In the Fourth Year
by Kathleen Hudson
Summary: It's Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, and everything seems to be the same, except for a new girl... someone who just doesn't seem like she belongs. HP Jedi Apprentice The Dark is Rising Sequence Tamora Pierce crossover.
1. Mission Accepted

Mission Accepted

Yoda looked at her and said, "The task given you now know, complete it yet you must." The girl returned the look and smiled.

"I know what I have to do." Her eyes were bright when she smiled. She got up from her levitating chair in the council room and turned to walk out the door.

"Accompanying you no one is. Careful you must be. War brewing there is." Yoda's smile had faded, and he was looking at her with a caring expression on his face. "Fail, you must not," he warned softly. The girl's smile had also disappeared.

"I know," she whispered.

The cafeteria was bustling with noise as a boy and girl walked to a table and sat down, their trays laden with food. The boy looked at her sadly, knowing that he wouldn't be seeing her for a while. "Ami," he said, "are you sure you're going alone?"

She looked at him sternly. "Of course I'm going alone, Obi-Wan. I don't need you and Qui-Gon around me on missions."

"Right Ami...you're a Jedi Master now. It's hard to get used to."

"Obi-Wan!" she shouted cheerfully. "I've been a Master for two years!"

"I know...it's just you're so young, and, well, because you're my friend, I guess I forget that you're so powerful." He looked down at his plate and started picking at his food.

"That's okay. I forgive you, Obi-Wan. I'm kind of nervous myself." She started eating some of her lunch. "Qui-Gon came to see me earlier."

"Really?"

"Yeah...he wished me luck. He also wanted to know why you've been acting weird lately."

Obi-Wan looked slightly uncomfortable at this. "Well," he squirmed, "I guess it's because you're going off alone for so long, and I'm afraid I won't see you again."

Amy laughed. "I've been going on missions alone for about six years now! And I haven't seen you since I was eleven."

"I know...maybe it's just because I just got to see you again. That's all. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too...but hey...there's going to be a dance...I'll invite you, okay?" Ami looked at him hopefully, wanting her friend to feel a little better about her leaving.

"Will there? You mean I'll get to see you on Earth?" She nodded. "You promise me that?" He held out his hand, palm facing her. She placed her hand on his and squeezed it.

"I promise."

The transport was empty when Ami got on. She explored all of the different areas and compartments, knowing all of the exits. It was a routine she had down perfectly, having had to do it ever since she became a Jedi's apprentice at eight. Being the youngest Padawan ever, she had learned right from the start all of the good safety checks to do in new places. As she sat down onto a couch next to a window, she pulled out a communicator and turned it on. "Mace?" she asked.

The communicator buzzed for a second, but then Mace Windu's voice rang out loud and clear. "Yes, Master Ami?"

"I'm ready for take-off."

"Are you sure you want to go through this?"

"Of course I'm sure. It's just Earth."

"But you haven't been to Earth in a while. Will you be fine going alone? I can send someone to accompany you–"

"I'll be fine. I'm not the galaxy's most powerful being for nothing," she grimaced.

Mace hesitated a bit before he spoke next. "Okay. Your pilot is on his way down now. Good luck, Master Ami. May the Force be with you." He switched off and Ami leaned back. She stared out the window, not even noticing when the transport revved up and took off.

_Why am I so nervous about this,_ she asked herself, _when I know that I've been to Earth before?_ She sighed and closed her eyes. She knew the answer. She didn't want to leave the rest of the galaxy; more importantly, she didn't want to leave her friends.

The ride over was very uneventful. The transport landed on the outskirts of some large city. Ami thanked her pilot, got all of her things together, and left. She walked out into the open air, breathing in the fresh summer scents, and started making her way to the train station. The city was so large; yet it was still so much smaller and not as technologically advanced as Coruscant. She sighed softly and made her way up the main street. She passed a few people doing daily chores, but no one bothered her. No one stopped her because she was wearing a tee-shirt and cropped pants, even though it was raining out. But she couldn't understand why people kept running away from the rain and carrying umbrellas. The rain wasn't nearly as bad as it was on other planets. But of course, no one here knew that. Even after reading all she could about Earth, she knew there was lots of things she didn't know. Being born on this planet didn't make one fluent in it's culture. So obviously they weren't about to understand how hard rain gets in Bandomeer or Coruscant.

Finally she made her way to the train station. It was ten o'clock, but Ami knew the train didn't leave until eleven. So she boarded the train slowly, knowing how accepting this mission limited her freedom. But thinking back to the Jedi Council meeting, she knew that she was the only one to take the job. She was the only one with magic, and therefore the only one accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As the minutes crept by, the train slowly started to fill with students anxious to get back to school, a feeling Ami had shared when she went to the Jedi Temple. Except there, school was always in session. But Ami never found a reason to not want to go back.

She had picked a compartment halfway down the train, hoping that she picked the right one. She wanted to be in the same compartment as the people she had read about in the _Harry Potter_ books, but if she wasn't in the same compartment, then she wasn't. Ami just hoped the luck of the Jedi was with her.

She didn't have to wait long to find out. A tall boy with bright red hair and freckles opened the door and put his luggage up onto the rack. He suddenly looked at Ami curiously and frowned. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know you were in here." He turned to the two people who walked in after him: a medium sized boy with messy hair and bright green eyes and a shorter girl with bushy brown hair. They looked just like the characters described in the books. She had picked correctly!

"Let's find another compartment," the boy who looked like Ron said to the others as he hastily took down his trunk. Ami jumped up and helped lower his trunk.

"No–that's okay. You can stay in here, if you like...it's big enough for all of us." She looked from one to the other, and noticed that the black-haired boy shrugged.

"It's fine with me." So he put his luggage onto the rack and helped the girl with hers and Ami helped the red head. Then they all left the compartment, Ami knew, to say good-bye to family. She sat down slowly and looked out the window. She heard the whistle blow, and the train started moving. The three finally returned again, and were talking about something that had happened before they entered. Ami ignored their conversation until the girl, Hermione, shushed the boys. They could hear someone's loud voice floating through the open door across the corridor.

"...Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the Headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore–the man's such a mudblood-lover–and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually _learn_ them, not just the defense rubbish we do..."

The bushy-haired girl tiptoed to the door and shut it softly, blocking out the snobby voice. "So he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" she asked angrily. She looked at the other two, and then noticed Ami, who hadn't said a word since they first came in. "Excuse me?" the girl asked, and Ami turned to look at her. She raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

For the first time they saw her smile. It lit up her whole face, and she didn't look nearly as sad or upset about being on the train. "You don't know how good it is to hear that. Practically everywhere I go people know who I am. It's such a relief to hear that. I'm Ami." She held out a hand for the rest to shake. In turn, they all introduced themselves.

"Hermione," said the girl.

"Ron," answered the red head.

"I'm Harry. And I know exactly how you feel. Everyone knows me around here...it gets very annoying, doesn't it?" He smiled as he shook her hand.

"I've never heard of you," Ami fibbed, "and I guess I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of me...I'm not from around here."

"You don't sound like it. Where are you from? America?" Hermione asked.

Ami hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, but that doesn't stop people from knowing who I am. In fact..."

"Yes?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Oh...it's nothing. Just some title I've been given. That's all." She turned slightly red and looked away.

"What's your title? Come on, we won't tell others," Harry said, grinning.

"No...you wouldn't get them. I should stop talking." She reached into the small bag below her feet and took out a book. Realizing she wanted to be alone for awhile, the others continued their conversation.

Lots of people showed up to visit, and all of them asked about Ami. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't have a lot of information, they couldn't say much about Ami. Ami could've told them herself, as she had known they were coming in and out, wondering who she was, but she didn't feel all that comfortable with the people she only knew from her books, so she tried to make it seem as if she were oblivious to it all. That was until Malfoy came in.

Ami had noticed him standing at the doorway listening to the conversation with his two cronies. Malfoy reminded her instantly of someone she knew...but she just couldn't place it.

After talking for a minute or so he finally noticed Ami sitting in a corner of the compartment. "So who's this?" he cackled, glad that there would be someone else for him to tease.

"You remind me of someone I know..." Ami said softly.

"I'm sorry...did I ask you?" he responded.

"Actually, you _were_ talking to me. Let's see...who was it?" She looked at him carefully, trying to remember someone she had once met. But all she could think about was that he was Draco. She had read about him so much in the Harry Potter books that it seemed that she had just thought of him, and no one else. But there had to have been someone different!

"I asked you for your name, not who I looked like to you. Unless that person is important?"

"But you don't just look like him...the insults, the threatening...the hair..." Malfoy put a hand to his hair defensively. "I've got it! Bruck!"

"What? Who is that?" he asked scathingly.

"Oh," Ami said softly, "no one you'd know."

"Then why did you even tell me? It's not as if I care. And you never answered my question: Who are you?" He was definitely frustrated with Ami, and his face was reddening with anger.

"I'm Ami. Not that you would care." She smiled defiantly at him and cocked her head. "Would you?"

Malfoy took a deep breath and turned to the others. "So...are you going to enter?" They all looked at him, confused.

"What are you talking about?" Ron snapped.

"_Are you going to enter?_" he repeated. Confirming that they didn't know he started grinning happily. "I hear there's money involved...you could get some decent robes for once," he sniggered, glancing at the maroon dress robes Ron had on top of his owl cage. "And how about you, Potter? You like having all of the glory...I suppose you'll just _have_ to enter...your head might explode if you didn't."

"Get on with what your saying, Malfoy, or get out," Hermione said.

Malfoy started to laugh. "Don't tell me they didn't tell you. I mean, really. Your father works at the ministry! I guess they just didn't tell him...he must be too junior...they must not talk about anything important in front of him." He laughed again and was on his way out when Ami spoke up.

"Of course they told him...in fact Malfoy, they tell him more things than they tell your father."

Malfoy turned around. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled from behind him. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. And you know what? I bet you're not going to be even able to enter," Ami went on.

Malfoy looked at her shocked, stunned that anyone would challenge him. "And how would you know?" he asked, his cheeks starting to get pink in anger. "You haven't even been here before."

"So what? That doesn't matter...if only you knew who I was. You'd understand then. I guess you're not important enough to know me though. Figures. I wouldn't have expected you to know me anyways." She shrugged and nodded him out of the room. Malfoy was definitely mad at her now, and he left the room muttering curses, his ears red.

"Wow. I don't think I've ever seen Malfoy so mad at someone he didn't know," Ron said admiringly. Ami just shrugged and was about to pick up her book when Hermione asked her a question.

"Erm...Ami? What are you doing here at Hogwarts? And why are you our age?" she asked timidly.

Ami looked at her for a moment to decide how much to tell her. "Well, four years ago I was accepted into Hogwarts, but I was too busy with other things at the moment to go to school. I had already learned a lot of magic, so it wasn't necessary for me to go...but I ran out of things I could learn alone, so I decided to come to school. And that's why I'm here."

She could tell that Ron bought her story, but she knew that Harry and Hermione weren't as convinced. Harry asked her a question next. "So how old are you?"

"I turned fourteen in August."

"And why were you so busy?"

"Well, I had other things. It's...it's hard to explain right now. Maybe when you get to know me better I'll tell you. Or you'll figure it out on your own. You're all very bright." She left it at that and turned back to her book, knowing that they would all spend a long time wondering about her. And she smiled.


	2. Hogwarts Sorting

Hogwarts Sorting

Ami got off the train and walked over to the thestral-carried carriages. Then she heard a loud voice bellowing out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Unsure of where to go, Ami remembered that the first years were led to the sorting ceremony. So Ami followed the voice over to a large man whom she recognized as Rubeus Hagrid. She followed him to a bunch of boats tied to the shore, bobbing up and down on the lake's uneasy surface. Everyone seemed to be bothered by the heavy rain that was coming down, but Ami just swept it away with a wave of her hand. It was the least she could do, as she had studied weather magic, and a bunch of other magics, since she was three. She had to admit though, when she saw the castle (or what she could make out...most of it was blocked by heavy rain and the wind), she was impressed. So were all of the other students.

She climbed into a boat and was followed by three more students. She noticed how they were all shuddering in the cold, and taking pity on them, Ami sent over some warmth to get some chills out. Of course, they were too excited to notice because at that moment the boats all sped off into the lake.

All of the first years oohed and aahed at the sight of the giant lake and then of the enormous cliff face they were coming closer and closer to. The boats weren't making very good time; it was as if their magic was fighting the current that tried so desperately hard to wash them all overboard.

Hagrid had a hard time making himself heard when they reached a cliff's outcropping hid by ivy. Most students got the message when they saw themselves coming closer to it, except for one student, a short one, who had been standing on his seat to get a better look at everything. Luckily the boats had been traveling too slowly to make any lasting damage. But the poor kid fell into the lake. Hagrid, who was riding in the back in case something like this happened, sped forward to reach him. But before he got there, someone had pushed him onto a boat. Shivering cold, the child was thrilled. Ami could here him telling others that he had been pushed up by the giant squid as she got back into her boat. The other students were too busy listening to their classmate's story that they didn't notice the strong burst of heat that warmed Ami and dried her clothes from the lake's water. When they got on solid ground, Hagrid gave the boy his coat, who was still telling everyone that he was saved by the giant squid, and proud of it. Ami didn't want to burst his happy thoughts by telling him the truth. And, she figured, no one saw her anyways. They would all believe him anyways.

They got to the Entrance doors of Hogwarts, and Hagrid knocked three times. A stern looking lady with a pointed black hat opened the doors and welcomed everyone in. If she noticed that everyone seemed to be wet except for Ami, she didn't say anything. She led them all to a small room.

"Line up, please. I will call you into the Great Hall when we are ready for you." She left the room and Ami went near the back of the line. She didn't want to be in the middle. It would look too awkward. She was at least a foot and a half taller than most of them. Besides, she didn't want them to feel more nervous than they already did. She could feel stares coming from curious first years, wondering if she had failed and had to take the sorting again. She ignored all of them and waited patiently to get the Sorting over with.

After what seemed like forever, the stern teacher, whom Ami assumed was Professor Minerva McGonagall, led them all inside to the Great Hall, where all of the students looked anxiously at the incoming students, making comments on how drenched they looked, and whether or not that girl on the end was actually a first year or not.

Professor McGonagall placed a three-legged stool in front of the line of incoming students, and on top of that put a very dirty hat with a wide brim and a large tear. It was the sorting hat. And everyone in the hall looked at it. And it sang loudly, the tear near the brim opening wide just like a mouth.

_A thousand years or more ago,_

_When I was newly sewn,_

_There lived four wizards of renown,_

_Whose names are still well known:_

_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,_

_Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_

_Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_

_Shrewd Slytherin, from fen._

_They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,_

_They hatched a daring plan_

_To educate young sorcerers_

_Thus Hogwarts School began._

_Now each of these four founders_

_Formed their own house, for each_

_Did value different virtues_

_In the ones they had to teach._

_By Gryffindor, the bravest were_

_Prized far beyond the rest;_

_For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_

_Would always be the best;_

_For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_

_Most worthy of admission;_

_And power-hungry Slytherin_

_Loved those of great ambition._

_While still alive they did divide_

_Their favorites from the throng,_

_Yet how to pick the worthy ones_

_When they were dead and gone?_

'_Twas_ _Gryffindor who found the way,_

_He whipped me off his head_

_The founders put some brains in me_

_So I could choose instead!_

_Now slip me snug about your ears,_

_I've never yet been wrong,_

_I'll have a look inside your mind_

_And tell where you belong!_

The Great Hall was filled with applause when the Sorting Hat finished his song. Professor McGonagall held a large parchment, which she unrolled, and she told the students, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool. When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table.

"Ackerley, Stewart." A nervous boy stepped out of line, trembling all over. He walked over to the hat, put it on, and sat on the stool.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted.

Stewart put the hat down and smiled, his nervousness gone. The Ravenclaw table was clapping for him, and he rushed over to his table and sat.

The rest of the students went up individually to the stool and got sorted into their houses, adding a respectable amount of new people to the Great Hall. Finally Ami was the last person to be sorted.

"Majicmaster, Ami." Ami walked up to the stool. McGonagall smiled when she announced her name. "Miss Majicmaster is very welcomed here. We are tremendously glad she has finally made her school choice, and we are also glad to see that she has chosen the right one." There was some laughter at that, and Ami looked around, smiling a bit from the comforting atmosphere of the place. Perhaps she needn't be as worried as she had thought she should be. "You see, four years ago Ami was accepted into every magical school in the world. She declined them all. We are happy to have her finally join us, as we know that she will be a very excellent addition to our student roster." Feeling better already about taking on this mission as the students applauded her, Ami sat on the stool, which was a little too small for her. McGonagall gave her the sorting hat.

The moment she put the hat on, Ami could hear a little voice in her head. _Hmm...where should you go? I can see that you have admirable qualities that all of the founders would have loved...there's courage, loyalty, cunning, intelligence...so many talents...I can't think of one house to _not_ put you in._

"Can I not be in Slytherin?" Ami thought to the hat.

_Not Slytherin? But why? You'd make an exquisite Slytherin...in fact, I can see you as the best of all Houses. If only you'd been around with the founders when they were living..._

"But I was...I was friends with them all...don't you remember me? I was practically as old then as I am now."

_Oh! Were you that girl...the Most Powerful Being in the Galaxy? Is that what they called you? _Ami nodded to the hat. _Wonderful! It's nice to see you again after all these millennia. But which House to place you in? I wonder..._

By now everyone was wondering what was taking so long. The Hat never took so long in making a decision. It had been a couple of minutes at least before everyone started whispering to their neighbor. They had never seen the hat take so long on one individual. Perhaps Hogwarts _wasn't_ the right school for this girl...perhaps she really wasn't a witch at all...maybe that was the reason the hat hadn't shouted any Houses out yet. Some students even started standing up so as to see what was the hold up.

_I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you which House to be in...maybe if you would just give me a prod in the right direction..._

"Well, Gryffindor wouldn't be too bad in my opinion,"Ami thought honestly.

_Gryffindor? Then that's what it is. I would think you would want to be in Gryffindor... after all, wasn't he your favorite of the four? _Ami smiled as she remembered Gryffindor. She had liked him more than the others for his bravery and dedication, and for the way he treated his friends.

McGonagall herself had just lost hope. She reached overto take the hat off of Ami's head when it shouted _"GRYFFINDOR!"_ It gave McGonagall quite a shock, and all of the Gryffindors cheered for Ami. Ami walked and sat next to Harry at the Gryffindor table, glad that at last the Sorting was over.

"I have only two words to say to you," Headmaster Dumbledore said with a smile when the school stopped talking. "_Tuck in._"

As the tables' dishes which were once empty began filling with the most delectable looking food, Ami thought about her sorting. It was long, and she could tell that people already thought of her as odd. Her good feelings had deflated, and she began to wonder herself just how normal she was. _I guess I am really powerful. If the hat couldn't decide which house I should be in, then I must really confuse people. _She had never really thought that her powers made her any different than the rest of the galaxy...she just knew that she had more responsibilities than them. But if a hat was indecisive over her, what would her classmates think? They, after all, had no knowledge whatsoever of how much power Ami had. She doubted if any of them could even imagine it. Hermione looked over at her and asked, "Are you okay?"

Ami looked at her, surprised. "Yeah...I'm fine," she lied.

"Well, you aren't eating anything." She looked down at her food.

"Yeah, well...I guess I'm just not used to this food...I ate other things where...where I stayed last."

Hermione looked dubious. "Okay," she said. "You'll get used to it."

Ami didn't have to penetrate her mind to realize that Hermione was questioning Ami's story, and was wondering just how powerful Ami really was.


	3. About the Tournament

About the Tournament

The puddings had disappeared from the tables. Hermione was looking away from Ron , who had been trying to get her to eat some food. Ami had noticed that after Hermione had found out house-elves resided at Hogwarts, she too was not in the mood for eating. Ami didn't want to eat the food, not because of the labor it took to make it, but because she wasn't hungry. Not hungry for food anyway. But companionship...she really wanted to have friends again. At the Jedi Temple or the Winding Circle Temple there was always someone to eat with. Everything was so foreign and different here though. Ami's thoughts were dissolved, however, when Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again.

"So! Now that we are all fed and watered," (Ami heard Hermione snort loudly,) "I just ask once again for your attention."

"First and foremost, Mr. Filch has given me a list of all items forbidden inside the castle. It has grown from last year's, now including four hundred and thirty-seven items. For the full list you can visit Mr. Filch's office."

The corners of the Headmaster's mouth twitched slightly. He continued with his notes, "As you should all know, the forest on grounds is out-of-bounds for students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.

"I must also inform you that, sadly, the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not be taking place this year." There were several loud outbursts at this news, and several students had gotten up in outrage. Dumbledore, on the other hand, just waved them down, saying softly, "Sit down, all of you. I am not finished yet. This is due to an event that will be taking place this year, an event that will require much time and energy on the staff's part, but I imagine that you will enjoy it greatly. I am delighted to announce that this year at Hogwarts–"

Dumbledore was cut off shortly as the doors of the Great Hall bounced open.

A badly scarred man came limping into the Great Hall, and at every other step a dull clunk was heard. Lightning struck, lighting up the man's face, and Ami heard many of the students in the Hall gasp in shock. Ami didn't.

She realized at once who he was, and she immediately didn't like him. She glared at him, and she noticed his magical eye spin and stare directly back at her.

He reached Dumbledore and held out a hand, amid whispers running through the students like wildfire. Dumbledore shook the cracked and scarred hand that was offered to him, and muttered some words to him that Ami didn't want to eavesdrop on. The stranger shook his head, unsmilingly, and followed Dumbledore's gaze to a seat on his right-hand side.

As the stranger sat down and shook his mangy dark gray hair out of his face, Dumbledore stood. While everyone watched the strange man sniff the food on his plate with the half of his nose that was left, Dumbledore announced, "May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody."

No one made a move. They were staring transfixed at the bizarre looking man, and Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped brightly, but stopped fairly quickly. "Professor Moody my foot," Ami snorted.

Ron was gaping at Moody, and Harry leaned over next to him. "Moody? As in Mad-Eye Moody? The one your dad helped this morning?"

Ron nodded, too awed to speak.

Hermione looked at him in half wonder, half disgust. "What happened to his face?" she whispered.

"No idea," Ron muttered back, his eyes never leaving Moody's face.

Ami watched everyone else in the Hall, and shook her head. They were transfixed over...him. He wasn't even worth it. Xanatos was worth more than that, she thought, with a smile. Then she shook her head again, glad she wasn't buying his act. Her eyes flicked to Moody on her way to Dumbledore, and she was pleased to see that he was still staring straight at her. She cocked her head and gave him a bright smile, and said softly to his head, "I know your secret." He looked up, surprise written on his face, only to be replaced by a venomous glare a second later. Ami smiled again and turned to Dumbledore, who had started speaking again.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at all of the students who were still staring with rapture at Moody, "this year is a very special year. We are honored to host an exciting event that will take place over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to announce that the Triwizard Tournament will be held this year at Hogwarts."

"You're JOKING!" Fred Weasley cried, leaping up from his seat. The tension that had been building in the Hall since Moody's arrival broke. Nearly everyone laughed. The Headmaster chuckled himself.

"No, I am _not_ joking, Mr. Weasley. Well, I am sure that many of you are wondering what the Tournament is, so please pardon me, all of you who already know.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established seven hundred years ago. Three schools participated in it, the three largest in Europe: Hogwarts, Beaubatons, and Durmstrang. Everyone felt that this was an excellent way to promote connections within the magical community. Each school took turns in hosting the competition, every five years. That is, until the death toll rose to an unacceptable amount."

"_Death toll?_" Hermione exclaimed, appalled. But no one noticed her outburst. They were too busy whispering to one another. Even Ami was gazing contentedly into space, as she remembered watching her first Tournament. She missed Dumbledore's next words, as she was called back to the memory.

_It was a slightly windy day, and the flags around the Quidditch Pitch were blowing playfully in the breeze. Godric had just taken his position next to Ami, and said happily, "Isn't this just spectacular?" It certainly was. The Pitch looked magnificent. She looked up at Godric._

"_You've really outdone yourself this time," she grinned. "This totally blows away the last task."_

_Godric shrugged it off. "It wasn't all me. You know that. You helped to." But Ami could tell by the blush creeping onto his cheeks that he was proud._

"_I didn't really do much."_

_Godric looked her, frowning. "Of course you did. This wouldn't have been possible without you. You have magic we can only dream of. You did a lot." He smiled and turned back to the scene unfolding before them._

_There was a whistle blown, and the three competitors came out, looking nervously around. It was a picture right out of a tropical paradise. Palm trees swayed in the gentle wind, the tide of bright blue water going in and out softly. Dazzlingly colored tropical birds flew around lazily, ignoring the people in the crowds._

"_Where did you get the idea for this anyways?" Godric asked her quietly. Ami smiled and looked away before she answered._

"_My bedroom."_

"Ami? Are you okay?"

"What?" she asked, feeling a finger prod her in the back. She turned around and saw Harry, who was looking at her in a concerned manner. "What's wrong?"

"You...you weren't moving."

"Oh. I was just daydreaming."

"About what?" he asked curiously.

"The Tournament. Why do you ask?" she said lightly.

"Well...Dumbledore finished his speech...we're all supposed to go up to our dormitories now." Ami nodded, and she got up slowly. Harry turned and ran over to his friends, and Ami was about to follow them when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder and into the smiling face of Dumbledore.

"Hello, Ami. Would you care to have a small chat with me?" he asked, his eyes twinkling as he smiled down at her.

"Of course, Headmaster," Ami said, returning the smile. Dumbledore led them out of the Great Hall through a small door, and they followed along a corridor and up a staircase behind a tapestry. They walked in silence, and after a few minutes stopped at a stone gargoyle.

Ami looked around her as the stone gargoyle sprang open and they walked through. She could remember the school; she knew where she was going. And yet, it was as if she hadn't been there for hundreds of years. It was so long since she had stayed with the founders, and yet she was barely older than she was now. _Perhaps I'm just too busy_, she thought with a sigh. _Too busy and too old._

Dumbledore stepped into his office and gestured Ami to take a seat. She sat down, looking around the room. It was so different from what it was when she was there last; smaller, with no pictures on the walls, and decked out in red and gold, Godric's favorite colors.

"So, Miss Majicmaster, I welcome you to Hogwarts. I have heard all about you, and I am very eager to have you at school this day."

The Headmaster was looking at her with bright eyes and a wide smile. "I'm glad to be here. And I must say, I am pleased that you are one of the only ones familiar with me. If everyone else knew that I was more famous than Harry Potter, I don't know what I'd do!"

Dumbledore laughed at this. "You would probably do what you do anywhere else." Ami laughed as well, and nodded in agreement. After the laughter subsided, all was silent for a moment until a voice broke out from high above.

"Ami? Ami Majicmaster? Is that you?" The voice was deep and pleasant, and Ami took immediate relief in hearing the voice.

"Godric? Is that you?" she asked, not able to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Yes, it is! How wonderful! Why, I haven't seen you in about one thousand years. And you look just the same as I remember you! How interesting..."

"You know Godric Gryffindor?" Dumbledore asked, amused. He walked to Ami and pointed up, helping her find the portrait of her old friend.

"Yes, I know him! He's a really good friend of mine," she smiled, waving up at the picture. Other portraits had woken up from their usual evening slumber to find out what was going on.

"Is he now?"

Godric laughed. "Of course she is. I may not have seen her in just about forever, but she will always hold a special place in my heart."

"And you're in mine, Godric. Right here." She pointed at her heart. "I'm sorry I haven't seen you in such a long time. I've been...busy." She recalled her encounters with Xanatos over the summer, and shuddered. Pushing the thoughts aside, she faced Dumbledore. "You wanted to talk with me?"

"I did," he began, taking a seat, and sighed. "But I feel that it wouldn't be such a good idea to talk in here. Maybe outside?" He stood up and walked to the door, watching the portraits as Ami followed, all of whom were trying to get some answers out of Gryffindor, who appeared to have gone back asleep, although Ami saw him wink at her as she left the room.

"Well," Dumbledore began, "I was wondering if there would be anything you needed to tell me. Any reason you decided to come to school after three years of self-tutelage. As a celebrated mage, I was very surprised to hear you were coming. I admit, I was speechless. Why the sudden interest to come? And here, of all schools?"

Ami looked away from the headmaster's piercing blue eyes. She sighed, and fiddled at the lightsaber fastened to her belt. "I guess I should tell you...but, I don't know. I don't know. Is that a good answer? Because I seriously don't know."

"Then why don't we find out?" He looked at her, his eyes sparking at the thought of new knowledge. Finally he could work out some of the wonders and mysteries that was Ami Majicmaster.

Ami closed her eyes, and began telling her story. "There is a war brewing. As a Jedi Master, or expected Master, I am entitled to be a peace keeper. But as this was a magical war, they needed someone magic. Obviously."

"Obviously," Dumbledore repeated, his focus directly on Ami.

"I was the only master from Earth, and the only one with magic, so I was the only choice. Being accepted into all of the schools of magic when I was eleven didn't hurt the cause either. They made me choose which school I should go to, and I chose Hogwarts, because Voldemort was drawn to Hogwarts, through Harry and you. I didn't want to take on this mission, but I knew that I couldn't say no. Everyone was relying on me to take the job. So I did. Not that it does any good," she muttered as an afterthought.

Dumbledore pondered this information. "Why didn't you come at eleven?"

Ami shrugged. "I was very busy...I was overwhelmed with everything that was going on. I got accepted into every school for magic, and there was trouble brewing at Winding Circle, and I just started training..." she faded out, hoping he didn't ask any questions about the last part. It was hard not telling anyone about being an Old One, but harder to explain why she was immortal. She shook her head, clearing thoughts out. She hated having to explain herself. It was easier if everyone just knew her story, accepted it, and moved on.

"And why didn't you want to come?" he asked politely. Ami could tell by his inquisitive look that she could be up all night telling her professor about her life. She decided to keep it brief for now. She needed to go up to her room and report to the Jedi Council. There would be time for details later.

"I was busy with the weight of the galaxy. I was eleven when the burden of the Balance became my responsibility, and I was just rewarded my titles. And Xanatos kept pestering me with death threats...it was a hard and confusing time. I finally got everything straightened up, only to be barraged by everything else. Can I go to bed now? I need to check in with the Council."

"One last question. Why does it do no good to be on this mission?"

Ami sighed deeply. This was the one question she had least looked forward for. She instantly wished she hadn't said anything, for saying it just proved that there was no hope. "I am forbidden to mess with time. Everything is set in stone already, and I wasn't written in with the puzzle. I can't stop anything from happening. I can only sit back and watch, and be careful not to unravel time. I can't do anything to stop this war. I am merely peacekeeper, and nothing more." She turned and started walking away, when she heard Dumbledore whisper behind her.

"So you can't help us whatsoever?"

Ami didn't even bother to confirm him.

"Balderdash."

Ami walked dully through the portrait hole and up the staircase to the top dormitory. She opened the door and walked to her bed. She sat down and ignored the giggling coming from Hermione's bed, where two other girls talked. Ami assumed they were Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, but she didn't care to confirm. All she wanted to do was speak to the Council...and then to Obi-Wan. She missed her friend very much. She shut the curtains around her four poster bed and set up a soundproof barrier so she could talk in peace.

Getting out her comlink, Ami switched it on and sat up straight. "Master Yoda?" she called.

There was some static, but then the old Jedi's voice rang out loud and clear. "Ah...Master Ami. Good to hear from you it is. Wondering how you are, I was."

Mace's voice followed. "So how is it? What is going on?"

Ami sighed as she looked at them. "I don't know why you sent me here."

Mace looked confused. "You are a peacekeeper; there is a war. You know why we sent you there."

"But I can't do anything!" she cried. "I'm forbidden to, remember?"

Yoda's brow furrowed. "Forbidden a rule is. Meant to be broken, rules are."

"But not this! If I mess with time, the Equilibrium will crumble and the universe will collapse! Besides, they can handle this themselves. They've already done it. It's in the _Harry Potter_ books. So why am I here?"

"I can't explain that to you, Ami. Albus Dumbledore sent for help, and we intend to give it to him." Ami groaned in exasperation. This was going nowhere.

"I have to go," she said harshly. "Class starts early tomorrow." She switched off the communicator and dropped it next to her, immediately sorry for what she did. She had let her frustration get the better of her, and she disgraced the two people she respected most in the galaxy. She sighed and leaned back on her pillow, and picked up the communicator. She breathed deeply for a few minutes, letting her feelings go through, and switched on the comlink. "Obi-Wan?"


	4. The First Day

The First Day

That morning, Ami woke up thoroughly tired. She had barely gotten any sleep last night. Obi-Wan's words kept echoing in her head. _I miss you... _he had said. _I miss you._ Well, Ami missed him too, but it wasn't going to do any good if she just wished herself away.

She roughly pushed her thoughts aside and pulled the curtains around her bed. There was no sun this morning. Although it had stopped raining, the sky was dark and the clouds gray. Looking at her wristwatch, Ami figured she had some time before breakfast to kill. She got up and got dressed, making sure she didn't wake her roommates. Then, tiptoing, Ami walked out of the room and out of Gryffindor Tower.

Once in the corridor, Ami stopped. She had no idea where to go. For a fleeting moment, she thought about going to the lake for a swim, but she dismissed that right away. It wasn't the right time to go swimming. The water would still be disturbed by the storm, and Ami didn't really feel like swimming. She just wanted to be alone.

So she walked to the Astronomy Tower.

The halls were deserted as she went along. Normally, students weren't allowed in this tower except for class time, but Ami was sure she could go up. She practically lived up there last summer. Of course, it had been well over one thousand years ago for everyone else. Being able to control time didn't mean that things had to be logical.

She climbed right up to the top and walked outside. The wind was chilly, but Ami heated herself up. The ground was always warm a few hundred meters down, and it always kept Ami at a constant body temperature. This heat added to her body allowed her to withstand thousands of degrees of heat, and it allowed her to stay in cold places comfortably without all of the extra clothing. She always had to be ready for a bounty hunter attack.

She tried to calm down, but her conscience always interrupted. She wanted to apologize to Yoda and Mace, but she didn't know if this was the right time. But she knew she wouldn't be able to meditate unless she said sorry, so she pulled out her comlink.

"Master Yoda? Master Windu?"

"Yes?" the communicator crackled. It was Mace Windu. Ami signed. _Now or never,_ she thought.

"I'm sorry...for last night. I let my frustration get the better of me and...I'm just sorry."

"That is alright, Ami, I forgive you."

"And what about Master Yoda?" Ami asked. She felt herself holding her breath. If Yoda was still upset...

"He forgives you as well. But he is unable to come at the moment. He is teaching some students."

"Thank you, Master Windu."

"Mace, Ami...you can call me Mace. We have fought together, and I consider you a fellow Jedi Master and friend. And I am not Master Yoda," he smiled.

Ami laughed at that, and said goodbye, feeling better already. Putting the comlink back in her pocket, she sat down and started to meditate.

Breathing in counts of seven, Ami let her magic soar. In her magical form, Ami went around and explored the grounds and the forest. Sufficiently calmed down, Ami went back to her body. Then, stretching her muscles, she realized she was late for breakfast.

_What will Dumbledore say?_ she asked herself. She started to run, but knew she wouldn't make it to breakfast in time. After a moment of thinking hard, she decided to either stop time or turn into an animal. But stopping time was risky...only supposed to be done for important matters.

An animal would have to suffice...but which one? A fast one, but one that wouldn't cause a lot of suspicion...an owl. An owl was perfect. They were always flying around at breakfast. So, turning into a tawny owl she flew off towards the Great Hall.

The windows were open and hundreds of owls were flying around, some black, some white, others brown, and still more colors. Fitting in quite nicely, Ami flew with them over the Gryffindor table, spotting an empty seat. But of course she couldn't transform back to a human there! So she went closer to the Great Hall doors, the scent of food enticing to her heightened sense of smell. Out the door she flew, and making sure no one was around, she quickly turned back to her normal form and almost ran into the Great Hall, snatching the seat she had spotted just before.

"What's with the rush?" Harry asked, amused.

"I'm late," Ami replied. "I didn't want to get in trouble."

"With who?" Ron asked, joining the conversation. Ami stared at him with wide eyes.

"Wouldn't Dumbledore be upset?" she asked. Harry and Ron exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Ami asked annoyed. "I like to be punctual, thank you very much." She waited for an answer from the boys, but none came.

"Here's your timetable, Ami," Hermione said kindly, glaring at her friends.

"So what have you got?" Ron asked curiously. Ami looked at her schedule.

"Well, I have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins this morning," she answered. Ron looked down at his timetable too and swore, angry about the Slytherins.

Harry looked up from his schedule and nodded. "That's what we have too. What else?"

"Well, I have double Divinations later today and Arithmancy, and then I'm also taking Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Ancient Runes, and something else...oh yeah. Defense Against the Dark Arts," she said with a disgusted face.

"What?" Harry asked, outraged. "What's wrong with that class?"

"Nothing. I just don't like the teacher." And then she turned away from them and helped herself to some porridge. Ami wished vainly that Obi-Wan was sitting next to her. No matter what, he always lifted her bad mood, and made her laugh. And he would completely understand her dislike for the teacher. But he had said yesterday when she called him that he would be away for a couple of weeks on a mission, so she couldn't contact him. So she gloomily ate her hot mush, and when she finished she got up, collected her things from the dormitory, and headed outside.

It was a nice and fair day, still gray but breezy. Her favorite. So she walked to the greenhouses, the slight wind lifting her mood.

The morning classes passed slowly, as all Ami could think about was resting during lunch, and then Divination. Professors Sprout and Hagrid were nice and all, but there was something about foretelling the future that always appealed to Ami. And she was good at it, better than she was at growing plants and turning into animals.

So finally after hours of Bubotubers and Blast-Ended Skrewts, it was time for lunch, and the whole Care of Magical Creatures class ran mercifully to lunch, a number of them bruised or burned. Ami however had not a scratch on her. Her natural resistance to flame and her ability to talk with animals helped control the ghastly beasts enough to know not to attack, which she was very thankful for.

Lunch was awkward for Ami. She was not used to Earth food, let alone the British variety. _I've got to go down and tell the elves to make something I can eat, or else I'll starve._ And that was not a welcome prospect.

The journey up to the North Tower went by quickly, and Ami was soon standing under the trapdoor, waiting with trepidation for class to begin. Finally, when most of the class assembled, the silver ladder came tumbling down, and Ami went up, following an excited Lavender and Parvati.

The room was dark and mysterious looking, with deep red velvet curtains dimming the light from the windows. The air was stifling from the lack of air movement, and the heat emanating from the hearth made the room uncomfortable. But Ami didn't mind. She was here to learn, and not to rest. She sat at one of the round, wooden tables in a puffy chair, and sunk back into the stuffing. The many beads and jangles around reminded Ami quite forcefully of a fortune teller's hut.

She watched as Professor Trelawney stepped into the light. She was quite tall, and way too thin, and wore ridiculously large glasses that magnified her eyes to a size no human could brag of. "Good day," she said in a light airy voice. She spoke to Harry for a bit, most likely telling him of his immanent doom, as Ami recalled from the _Harry Potter_ books. This woman was a fraud, except for the rare prediction she had. Ami shook her head and sighed.

"And who might you be?" the Professor asked Ami.

"Ami."

"And do you possess the Inner Eye?" Trelawney continued on.

"I don't know. You are the Seer, so why don't you tell me?" she asked carefully. Professor Trelawney stared at her with even wider eyes, and looked her over thoroughly.

"Hmm...I'm not exactly sure. There's an air of...mystery around you. Will you demonstrate something for me?" Ami would have laughed loudly if the teacher hadn't been right. But it was true. Ami knew she was an extremely mysterious person.

"And what would you like me to do? I'm up to anything."

"Well, you seem pretty confident. Why don't you show me whatever you want?" Ami smiled. This woman was a total fake. She had no idea how to test someone who had the Eye.

"I'll scry," Ami said, procuring a small vial from a pouch that hung from her belt. "Do you have a bowl? Something clean." Trelawney quickly went to her shelf and retrieved a bowl, shaking with anticipation. Slowly Ami poured out the contents on the vial into the bowl. A light purple liquid poured out, mist rising from the bowl as the liquid hit the wood. A light, appealing scent entered the atmosphere as Ami set down the empty vial and stared into the bowl. Almost immediately images started to appear.

There was a burst of fire, and then smoke rose into the air of a vast stadium-like place. There was a flash of something golden when the scene went on and bubbles flew everywhere, and green figures swam up from an underwater metropolis. Then it faded to black, and movement appeared, showing tall hedges and dark narrow passageways. Then there was a bright flash of light and a graveyard was shown, along with a dozen or so black-clad people forming a circle around flashing red and green lights. Then suddenly there was a blinding flash of green. Ami roughly pushed herself away from the table, shocked at what she had seen. It had looked to her as if it was part of the Tournament that would commence later in the year. But it didn't look like it came from an audience's point of view. It was as if it was from a champion's.

As if _she_ were the champion.

"Well, what did you see?" Professor Trelawney asked expectantly. As Ami poured the purple liquid back into the vial, she shook her head.

"This was a mistake. I've got to go." And with that she turned around and left.

Ami wandered around the school, wondering where to go. She didn't want to go back to class–ever. She wanted to go to a person. But not just anyone. They had to understand who she was. But Obi-Wan couldn't be contacted, and she didn't want any of the other Jedi to worry about her just because of a foolish vision. It had to be someone who would care. And then she bumped into him.

"I'm sorry, Miss Majicmaster."

"Please. It's Ami. I don't really want my surname known."

"And why not?" he asked.

"It's very recognizable. And that's not good, because if a bounty hunter hears it, I'll be found on the spot. It's better if people forget my last name. For now, at least."

"I'll be sure to tell the staff that. Now, is there any particular reason you are walking around while you should be in class?" Ami looked into the older man's face.

"Well, Professor Dumbledore...yes. I was in Divination, and I had a couple of visions." She looked away from him and fiddled with the lightsaber fastened to her belt.

"Did this just happen out of the blue?" he asked quietly.

Ami shook her head. "I was scrying, because Professor Trelawney wanted to test my skills in the art of telling the future. So I did, and I saw some images," she took a breath in and slowly let it out before continuing. "Of the Triwizard Tournament."

"Did you now?" Dumbledore asked, intrigued. Ami nodded. "And what were they about?"

"I'd rather not say."

"I understand." He nodded and looked at her hands which were surprisingly empty. "And where are your books?" Ami fidgeted and clasped her hands around her back. She started to rock back and forth on her heels.

"Well... I uh..."

"Do you not want to take Divination anymore?" Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling mischievously. Ami nodded in relief, glad that she didn't have to say it. "Very well then. I shall inform Professor Trelawney later this evening." He waited for Ami to turn and leave, but she didn't. He assumed that she had something else to say. "Is there something else?" he asked, after waiting for minute or two.

"Well, I was wondering... since I know a lot about defending myself and such, can I not take Defense Against the Dark Arts too?" Dumbledore stared down at her, a hard expression visible in every line of his face.

"And why would you not like to take that?" he asked, his voice giving away his emotions.

_Because I don't like the teacher._ She sighed and said softly, "Never mind," and she turned to walk away. She halted when she heard the headmaster speak.

"He is expecting you to be in his class. So I suggest you be there." She heard the old man's footsteps fade away into nothing as she made her way up to Gryffindor Tower, cursing in her head in every language she knew.


	5. Paradise Found

Paradise Found

She spent the rest of the day in the dorm room, thinking. _How did Dumbledore know that my reason for not going to Defense class was because of the teacher? He can't read my mind–I've got all sorts of boundaries surrounding it. But was it that obvious? Maybe Harry or Ron told him, or Hermione...I had mentioned it to them this morning, but how could they have told him? I was with them almost the entire time. And another thing. Why did Dumbledore ask for my help? If he wanted Jedi help, and he knew all about me, how come he had to ask why I was here at Hogwarts? That doesn't make sense! If he knew why I was coming, why would he go so far as to make up a story that he had no idea that I was coming? Something here is very fishy..._

Then, because there was nothing better to do, Ami made her way down to the kitchens. She tickled the pear and opened the door, and instantly ten house-elves came swarming to her, bowing their heads off. "Umm...hello. I was wondering something." The elves all raised their heads and one nodded, ready to take her request. "For the meals...I was wondering if I could eat something different."

"Something different?" an elf repeated squeakily. "Like what?"

"Well, I don't know how to explain it. I don't suppose any of you have been out in space before?" Most of them shook their heads, some looking terrified, although she did notice a couple look at her confused, as if they had no idea what space was. "How about I leave you some recipes? Because I don't really like Earth food that much."

"Where are you from?" squeaked an elf. Ami looked at who she supposed was Dobby, as he had on a different sort of uniform–it was more like muggle's clothes than any house-elf's type of clothing.

"Earth," she answered. But, noticing the other's confused stares, she went on. "I was born on Earth, but I was raised outside of this world. So I'm not really used to this food. Would it be alright if I just ate something different?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Dobby squealed in delight. Then he took the small book Ami held out to him and brought it over to the cooking area. "We will make you some food and bring it later to you!" The other elves nodded brightly. So, satisfied, Ami turned and left the kitchens and went back to the dormitory.

"Hello, Ami," Hermione said nicely once she had come into the common room. "I heard you walked out of Divination. Good for you!" Ami looked uneasily at her.

"Oh...well, it's only because of Trelawney that I dropped the class. I really do like the subject."

"Sure," Hermione said. "You missed Arithmancy."

Ami was confused at first, and then remembered that Arithmancy was scheduled at the same time as Divination. "I know. I just had to straighten my schedule first. I won't miss it next time. I promise!" Ami reassured the brunette.

"You also missed Malfoy–as a ferret!" Ron shouted excitedly. "It was amazing! He was a ferret...all white and he bounced up and down, thanks to Moody–"

"I get it," Ami said sharply. Ron looked slightly put-out at that, but his smile returned when he remembered Malfoy's "unfortunate" transfiguration. He giggled and turned to Harry to discuss the subject more. Ami walked up to the dormitory, sighing.

_I want my old bedroom. The one with the beach, and the birds... It was my tropical paradise, and now I don't know what to do without it. This four-poster is so boring,_ Ami thought, shoving her curtains aside so she could take a better look out of the window. _If only there was a room where I could stay in. Besides, I don't even fit in with the three girls I share this room with. They've been sharing this room for three years already, and I feel as if I'm intruding. And I don't have enough room to put all my stuff down!_ And then it hit her. The perfect place. The only place in the whole school where she could fit in, and do her own things without anyone interrupting her or asking questions. She hurriedly got together all of her stuff, shrunk it so it fit in one trunk, and then shrunk the trunk as well and hung it from her belt. And she walked out of the room, on her way to Dumbledore's office.

Ami stood outside of the stone gargoyle, waiting for the password to come for her. Sighing, she realized she'll never know it, and presses her hand on the stone's forehead. "Open," she said in the Old Tongue, the Old One's language. The stone made a hiss as it opened up to let her through. She climbed up the circular staircase, remembering that last summer, with Godric, she had always known the password.

Ami knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Dumbledore opened the door a notch, and after noticing it was Ami, he held it open wider. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if...uh...I could sleep in the Room of Requirement?" she asked timidly.

"The Room of Requirement? Why?" he asked, confused. "Isn't the girl's dormitory good enough?"

She shook her head sadly. "I'm an intruder there. They all ignore me, and I can't get anything done, and...well, I want to leave them alone and let them have their space. And I need my own space too. And I think the Room–" she cut off sharply when she heard a voice above her cut in.

"No. You cannot sleep in the Room of Requirement. I cannot let you do that." The man's voice was familiar and comforting. But Ami was puzzled about why he would say no.

"And why not, Godric? I happen to feel that this is an excellent idea!" Dumbledore said, amused.

"Yeah. I want my tropical paradise!" Ami almost shouted. She wasn't going to let anyone stop her from getting her room back.

" 'Tropical paradise...' What?" Dumbledore asked, perplexed.

"Don't get upset, Ami. I have a surprise for you," Godric said. The anticipation in his voice could hardly be concealed.

"What surprise?" Ami asked warily. She didn't like surprises. She always liked to know what was going on, because if she didn't know, it could spell out death.

"Let me show you! Follow me!" And with that he left his portrait from high up in the ceiling to the lower ones, past all of the sleeping headmasters and headmistresses, and out of the room entirely. Ami looked at Dumbledore, as if he was in on this "surprise" as well. Dumbledore made his way to the door. He had just opened it when he looked at her, a small smile on his face. "Are you coming?"

Headmaster and student followed Godric all over the school, and had to rely heavily on Dumbledore's knowledge of the ways around it. They had to resort to using several hidden passageways, and even still lost Godric's trail. And he would turn up behind them, smile, and take off again. _Figures,_ Ami thought. _He always liked to play games._ She wasn't sure how this made her feel. But because of the Headmaster's happy mood, Ami's was starting to lift as well. And after thirty minutes of running around the school past frightened portraits, confused students, and even an outraged Professor McGonnagal at their running around the school, they finally came to their destination.

"Remember this?" Godric asked cheerfully to Ami, who was staring at the door in awe.

"Remember it? Of course I do! But what does this have to do–"

"Open it."

So on her old friend's request, Ami slowly opened the door. And what she saw made her gasp in surprise. She began tearing up instantly. "How did...how did you..."

Smiling at his old companion, he laughed. "Well, after the last Trial, we decided we needed a way to preserve what you did. So the others and I got together to try and decide what to do. But you had already left, so we couldn't ask you. That's when we wanted it to be a surprise. You had promised to come back, so why not give the room you stayed in a nice make-over? You had said it was fashioned after your bedroom, so...here you go!"

"Oh...it's beautiful! Thank you!" And Ami ran into the room, Dumbledore following curiously. Once he saw what was there, he gasped as well. The room was breathtaking–a true tropical paradise. Cool winds blew, bringing along the smell of warm sand basking in sunlight and fresh palms, and salty sea water. The tide could be heard faintly to the left, but immediately in front of the door was a vast jungle, with tall trees and leafy bushes. Birds flew lazily in among the trees that blew gently in the wind, adding their own noises and calls to the atmosphere. Ami was running in through the trees, laughing through tears. Dumbledore followed her in, overjoyed by this room. And yet it didn't seem a room. It was more of a whole other world...sort of like the muggle book _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_, a book he rather enjoyed. He looked back at Gryffindor, who was smiling happily at the hysterical girl. And with a nod, Godric dismissed himself, humming a joyful tune as he went.

Ami ran to her hammock, which was swaying gently back and forth in a tall tree, and climbing eagerly she made it to the top. Then she sat back and enjoyed her surroundings, unaware of anything else. That is, until Dumbledore coughed softly. Ami looked down bashfully.

"Sorry, Professor. I'll be right down."

Once she hit the ground, the two walked off together, Ami explaining things on the way.

"... And this is where they had the Triwizard Tournament, the first one, if I remember correctly. It was the last Trial, and the Founders asked me to do something special, so I thought of my bedroom back in the Jedi Temple. I have always liked it here, so I presented this to them, and they loved the idea–a treasure hunt of a sort."

"This was your bedroom?" he asked amazed.

"Yeah...I got kind of bored one day, and I decided to make my room more of my own. And as you can see, it became," she waved her hand around grandly, "this. And I love it."

They had reached the beach and Ami sat down in the smooth, soft sand, the waves just touching her toes, her shoes having been thrown off carelessly awhile ago. She giggled wildly, and then leaned back and enjoyed the sun's rays. Dumbledore sat next to her, thrilled at finding this new place, an area he had never known existed. "So is this the 'good enough' you were looking for?" he asked quietly, looking at his better next to him. And the girl looked up, smiling and nodding, tears shining in her eyes. And as she looked out at the horizon, she knew one thing, and one thing only.

Life was good.


	6. Shocking Snape

Shocking Snape

She fiddled with the things on her belt. Her lightsaber (her favored fighting weapon), her wand, her velvet bag of a few potion ingredients and some already made potions, mostly healing ones, were all on the belt. In the bag were many things; healing potions and bottles of things she brewed. A few were powders to aid in her magical needs, and she carried her scrying liquid with her everywhere. Then there was her staff, a plain shaft of wood with some of her magic anchored in it. It was void of any writings or engravings, just the way she liked it. She would have placed a few more things around her waist, as was her custom, but it would look odd under her school robes. The rest of her things went into her trunk or in her chest of treasures.

Of course, now that she had her own room, everything was spread around in just the right places, just like when she was six and training to become a Jedi.

Ami smiled as she looked at her room, the paradise she had created for herself, when she heard a loud crack, and soon saw a house-elf standing next to her carrying a tray loaded with food. "Some food for the Miss's pleasure!" squeaked the elf. Ami bent over to receive the gift of food. "Miss asked us to make the food so us house-elves did as we are told and made the food. Try them, please! We worked very hard on them and wonder how Miss thinks of them!" With that, the house-elf, which Ami assumed was female by the high pitch of the voice, placed the tray in Ami's arms and waited patiently while Ami put the tray on the sandy beach and ate.

"Mmm...this is really good!" she said after a couple of bites. She was holding what looked like salad, except the leaves were red and orange, and was covered with a purple sauce and little blue chunks. "This is some of the best minife I've ever had! I'll try something else." And she went on like that for a good half hour before she dismissed the elf, saying, "It's about time I go to bed. Thanks for the food–it was delicious!"

Once the elf left, Ami stared at the setting sun for a moment before turning back to her hammock in the tree in the jungle. She climbed up the tall tree, and lay in the rope net, swaying gently in the wind until she fell asleep, completely content with the day.

At daybreak, Ami got up and swiftly walked to the beached, amazed by the dazzling horizon and sparkling water. She hadn't seen a sunrise as radiant since she was eight, when she left the Jedi Temple to begin her training as a Jedi Padawan.

_It was barely light out but still Ami was awake, waiting anxiously for the day to begin. The sky was brightening up with the sun, and the tide brought in waves that glistened in the sun as it washed away at the shoreline. Today was the day, when she would become a Jedi Padawan, and become the first ever to train under a Master before the age of eleven. Though it was quite common for her to break records such as that, she was still extremely pleased, and a little shocked that she was the one to accomplish such astonishing things._

_She was foretold, however, to have an amazing life, just as long as she doesn't succumb to the _other_ side, the dark side, the one she must be totally against in order to save the universe..._

Ami waded into the water and began to swim, preparing herself for the day. She would have potions, and from what she read and what she heard, it was not going to be a very pleasant class. So with a small sigh, she climbed onto shore and dried herself off with the heat from the ground and collected her thoughts as she walked into the jungle for her books and things. Fifteen minutes later Ami shut the door to her rediscovered room and walked down to breakfast, where she enjoyed food from Coruscant and other parts of the galaxy.

Then it was time for potions.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked her as he and his friends made their way down to the dungeons.

Ami shrugged. "I guess. I'm not _not_ ready, so I guess I am ready."

"Well, brace yourself," Ron murmured as a terrified Neville pushed his way past them, whimpering in fear. As they walked to the entrance to the class, Draco and the rest of the Slytherins started to arrive.

"Well, if it isn't Potty, Weasel, the mudblood, and that one, the new girl. Hmm...I wonder if she's a mudblood too...hey, you! Do you have dirt running through your veins?" Draco laughed. Harry and Ron jumped at Draco, but Ami caught onto them mid-leap and pulled them back.

"Why you–" Ron began, but Ami cut him off.

"Well, if dirt is magic, than I've got to say I have loads more of it running through me than ever touched you, Draco."

"Oh yeah?" he asked angrily. "Prove it!"

"There's no need. You'll see for yourself in due course." And at that moment Snape arrived, opening the door to the classroom. Ami followed him in and sat in a seat near the front, leaving a red-faced Malfoy far behind. Harry and Ron looked at her uneasily.

"What do you want to sit that close up for?" Ron asked softly. Ami looked at him and shrugged.

"I like potions. You can go sit in the back. I'm fine by myself." Harry and Hermione shared glances and they too shrugged.

"Suit yourself," Ron said, and they settled themselves in the back corner, as far away from Snape as possible. The irritable professor frowned at the class. Ami looked up at him, and seeing the expression on his face made Ami very unsure about whether she really _was_ ready for this class. But she'd have to take it anyways, so she sat up straight and took a deep, calming breath, and looked at Snape, who began to talk.

"Today we'll be making a very difficult potion. I doubt that any of you will be able to produce this correctly, as I know you haven't practiced anything over the summer." He tapped his wand on the blackboard that was next to his desk. Writing appeared on it instantly, filled with a long ingredients list. Ami smiled at the thought of a challenge. "The potion you will attempt to make is a heat-resisting potion, and when made properly it will coat objects with a thin layer to protect them from burning or melting. Begin."

Ami had made this potions millions of times before, because she had a knack of setting things on fire or heating them a little too hot when she dried herself off or warmed up. But she had never seen the potion made this way before. She smiled, relishing the fact that she could prove Snape wrong in assuming she would be horrible at Potions. He was staring at her, smiling inwardly at how she had not yet started her potion. He wanted her to do poorly.

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She couldn't.

So she started.

It was actually pretty easy. It had a low limit of how much heat it could withstand, however, a limit Ami wanted to test. She finished first of everyone, and took a vial of it to the professor.

"What are you doing out of your seat?" he snapped. "I did not give you permission to walk around."

"I've finished." She handed him the potion, and he inspected it for any mistakes. However, the blue was light enough for his satisfaction, and it glowed just ever so slightly, so he went to his desk. He set the sample on the table and uncorked it.

"Give me one of your things. I need to test it." He held his hand out impatiently. Ami shied away from him, staring uneasily at the floor. "Well, give me something!"

"I... I don't have anything."

"What are you, poor? Of course you have something! Now give it to me. Now!"

"I can't. They're already protected."

He looked at her in disbelief. "With what. This?" He waved the bottle in her face.

"I have my own potion to resist flames. I made it last summer."

"And why do you need such a thing?"

Ami took out a scrap piece of parchment. "Will this do?"

"Yes. Hand it here now. And you never answered my question," Snape hissed, looked at her in disgust. But instead of giving him the parchment, she took the vial out of his hand. And, carefully, she poured out a small portion of the potion onto the paper and spread it.

"This is why I need it." And, looking at the paper, she willed fire to burn it. At first the paper refused to burn, but as she increased the heat the fire burned brightly until it was a blueish color, when the paper suddenly turned to ashes and fell to the floor. And she looked up at Snape, the surprise visible on his face making her smile. A second later his look vanished, as if it had never been there. But Ami knew better. "It actually had a hotter limit than I expected. 500˚C. Not bad!" And with that she turned back to her desk and left him staring stunned after her.

Snape shook his head and was distracted at the moment by Neville. "Longbottom!" he shouted. "You were supposed to add the frog guts _before_ the scarab beetles. This is the sixth cauldron you've melted in my class! Detention for you tonight, in my office at 8!"

Other than Neville's detention, nothing else really happened. An hour later at the end of class, Ami passed Harry, Ron and Hermione on her way out. Ron was stunned that anyone besides Hermione could excel at Potions, Hermione was upset that anyone could be better than her at Potions, and Harry was just shocked that Snape hadn't said anything really nasty to her. Every time Harry saw her, Ami surprised him. What a year this would be.


	7. Defense Against the Dark Arts

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Time until Thursday passed quickly for Ami, finding that she adjusted well in the classes. That was until Defense Against the Dark Arts. All of the Gryffindors had been looking forward to Moody's class. All of them except for Ami.

Thursday after lunch all of the fourth year Gryffindors were lined up in front of the door, waiting anxiously for class to begin. The last to arrive was Hermione, who had been in the library, yet again. Even Ami was there before her, but that was only to think about the lesson. She remembered reading about the class in her book, but she didn't know how her being in it would change the story. She hoped it wasn't anything too horrible.

After the doors opened, the trio hurried to the front of the room, choosing seats right in front of the teacher's desk. Ami followed them hesitantly, before deciding against sitting in the front. She instead went to the back corner and sat, dimming the nearest lights, hoping she wasn't very noticeable. Unfortunately, as soon as "Moody" walked in his magical eye swivelled right at Ami. She sighed and stared back fiercely, as if daring him to say something. He didn't, though. Instead he told everyone else to put their books away, which Ami hadn't bothered with in the first place.

Moody started roll call, his eye fixing itself on each student as they answered, and he paused for a moment on Ami before he put the parchment away and clapped his hands together.

"Right, let's begin. I've gotten a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. It seems you've done Dark Creatures... is that right?" There was some nodding of heads and murmurs of acknowledgment, and Moody continued. "You're very behind on curses though. Very behind. So I'm here to bring you to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've only got one year to–"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted. Ami glared at him from the back, but no one was looking at her. Moody turned his eye on Ron and smiled.

"You're Arthur Weasley's boy, eh?" he asked. "He helped me get out of a rough spot a few days back... yeah. I'm only staying for one year. Special favor to Dumbledore, and then I'll go back to peaceful retirement."

Ami snorted. He was so fake! Moody quickly looked in her direction and the smile dropped. "Is anything funny?" he asked in a deathly soft whisper. Ami shook her head defiantly.

"No. Continue on, _Professor_." She cocked her head and smiled in a knowing way. Moody turned his attention back onto the class, but kept his eye on Ami.

"So–curses. They come in many strengths and forms. The Ministry of Magic doesn't want you to see some of them, and said you can only learn counter-curses. But Dumbledore thinks higher of you than that, and the sooner you know what you're up against the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against a spell you've never seen? Fights are fast and furious. An evil wizard won't be nice and slow down for you, he won't tell you what he's going to attack you with. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, while I'm talking."

Lavender blushed and shoved the Divination horoscope out of sight. Apparently Moody could see through wood, but Ami didn't care. She already knew that, and besides, she was just glad to have Moody's eye off of her.

"So, do any of you know which curses are most punishable by law?" Hands rose up into the air, and after calling on a student he wrote on the blackboard in front of him, "Unforgivable Curses." Ami shook her head. She did _not_ want to be here. If only she could go elsewhere... but there was nowhere to go. She couldn't just leave out of the blue. Moody would definitely tell Dumbledore, and Ami would get in trouble for walking out of class.

Moody pulled out a jar with three spiders in it. Ami felt a shiver crawl down her spine. She knew what was going to happen to the spiders. And being able to transform into animals gave her the innate ability to feel for other animals and to talk to them. And if one were to be killed... on purpose, no less, Ami would be ripped up inside. It was like that for so many things, like plants, and the earth, and even for fellow humans. She had to get out of the room now.

"_Imperio_!" The first spider Moody had chosen was under the Imperius curse. It was doing all sorts of backflips and twirls. Ami shuddered as she felt a tug inside of her, one that signaled the helplessness of the poor spider. She started breathing heavily, trying to control the desire to rush up and stop the curse. But thankfully, he ended the curse. She placed her hands on the desk and faced the windows, trying to calm her ragged inhalation. It was only a matter of time until the Cruciatus curse...

"The Imperius curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody barked, and everyone jumped. Ami was thrown out of her breathing pattern and nearly choked.

He picked up the poor jumping spider and tossed it back into the jar. "Anyone else?"

Hands went up into the air, including Neville's. Ami's shoulders drooped. She knew what was going to happen. She tried to prepare herself mentally, but she couldn't get out the picture of what was going to happen to the next spider. She looked up just as Moody piointed his wand at the spider trying vainly to escape off of the desk.

"_Crucio_!"

The spider immediately flipped over and shook violently. Ami could feel the pain, like sharp knives exploding all over, and she could hear the spider's cries in his little spider voice. It was horrible to listen to, and worse to feel. If it had been her under Cruciatus, things would have been better. Far better. But to feel the torment that someone else is going through, and know you can't do anything about it...

"Stop it!"

It was Hermione. Ami breathed a sigh of relief as the pain ceased, although small tremors were shaking through her body and that of the wrecked spider. She could barely look up to see Neville's pale white face, his eyes wide with shock and horror. And then she felt a buzz at her waist.

She lifted her comlink up, for that is what made the buzzing, with trembling hands. "Yes?" she asked softly. She felt Moody's eyes swing at her, but she didn't care. This could be the escape she needed from the next curse.

"Ami?" Obi-Wan's voice filled her head, and she calmed down a lot more. "One moment. Professor," she began, looking straight at Moody, "I have to take this."

Moody narrowed his one normal eye, wanting to say she can't leave, and that she has to stay. He saw how much this lesson was affecting her, and he wanted her to stay for every last bit. But he knew how much Dumbledore looked at her with admiration, for whatever reason, and he had to let her go if he wanted to stay on the good side of the staff. Even though she knew... or so she thought. "Fine. Go ahead. Get the notes from your classmates." He glared at her as she left, but Ami couldn't have been happier.

"Obi-Wan," she said once she was in her room. "How've you been?"

"Good. Oh, Ami it's good to hear from you again."

"I feel the same way. You have to come soon! The dance will be in a couple of months... you've got to see my room!"

"You're room? Why?" he asked, amused.

"It's my room! Just like the one at the Temple! You have to come so we can talk, and play, and do all of the things we did before I left." She smiled, imagining it already.

"I can't wait. So you have to tell me how everything is on Earth." Ami settled against a large palm tree, and began to tell him everything that had happened since they last spoke, including the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the teacher, and the galaxy food she was now getting. They talked for hours, both missing dinner and both not falling asleep until late that night, charged up after chatting with their best friend, both feeling better than they had in weeks.

Both ready for what was to come next.

Classes were becoming more strenuous, even for Ami who seemed to be doing slightly better than everyone else, even though she had only been taught by a wizard in America, or so she told them. Her fellow Gryffindors didn't really believe the story she told, but they didn't want to question her either, in awe and fear of whatever secret power she possessed. So they mainly left her alone.

Ami thought that was just fine. Being alone had its advantages. She could do her own, different ways of magic and complete tasks without any of the others seeing or knowing.

Moody announced during one lesson that he'd be placing the Imperius curse on all of them, and having them throw them off. Ami was not looking forward to that very much, but most of her classmates were. That day they all gathered around early so they could get good seats. And Ami sat in her normal chair in the back corner.

He called up her classmates one by one, and Ami knew from the way he was progressing that she was going to be last. So she waited, and watched as Harry threw off the curse completely after his fourth try, and Neville was cartwheeling around the room for the longest time. There were some other students who did fairly well, and others who had a bit more trouble (like Seamus. He was juggling a couple of books while crowing for about ten minutes before Moody finally took off the spell.) And then it was her turn.

Ami walked over to Moody. He raised his wand. "_Imperio_."

A blissful feeling of nothingness swept over her. She relaxed in it for a moment when she heard a voice in her head, echoing as if it was from far away: _Tell them who you are, Ami... tell them who you really are... I know they'd like to know. _I'd_ like to know..._

She lifted an eyebrow as everything came straight back to her. What kind of game was he playing? Did he honestly think that she would listen to a silly order like that? She didn't feel like she was under the Imperius curse anymore. There was no nothingness, because she had to think, hard. It felt like mud had swept across her mind, trying to cloud her brain and flood it out. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. _Tell us, Ami. We all want to know._

"No," she said delicately. "I don't think I will. Sorry." And she looked at Moody and smiled peacefully.

"That's... amazing. I've never seen anyone throw off that curse that easily," Moody said, although he didn't seem to happy about it. In fact, he seemed to be angry with Ami. "Let's see you handle this. _Crucio!_"

Ami heard everyone gasp as she fell from the pain. She thought of the spider before she thought of nothing else, only the pain that was wracking her body.

The pain was not unbearable, but she hadn't felt anything this bad for a long time. She forced her mind to think of how to stop this. She tried to breathe deeply, accepting the pain like a Jedi could, but even she couldn't handle it. This was torture. Then, almost out of reflex she sent her magic out and slammed Moody against the wall.

The curse lifted at once, and she stood up shakily, gasping from the effort. She could feel the horror emanating from the students, but she didn't care for them right now.

She looked at Moody who was pushing himself up, his hand over the spot on his head where he had landed. "That," she said scathingly, "is illegal." And with that she turned her back on him and walked out the door.


	8. Where's Home?

Where's Home?

Classes were getting harder and harder for the fourth years. In Transfiguration they had a lot more homework each night, Professor Binns had them writing long essays on Goblin rebellions and famous magical wars, and in Potions Snape had them research antidotes for different poisons. He had threatened them all one day, telling them he was going to be poisoning them, and that he'd be checking to see if their antidotes worked. And everyone in Charms had to read three extra books in preparation for Summoning Charms.

Of course, this giant workload was no problem for Ami. She had studied magical wars and revolutions so much at the Jedi Temple Archives that a forty-eight inch essay would take her only an hour and a half to complete, and she could perform a Summoning Charm already. Not that she had told Professor Flitwick yet. Ami also already knew all sorts of different poisons, and had their antidotes worked out and memorized by the time she was five.

So it was with a light and stress-free attitude one day after classes that she walked towards the Great Hall. In the Entrance Hall there was a group of students hanging outside of a large sign that had just been posted. Ami, having not read her _Harry Potter_ books recently, forgot what that sign could be, and pushed her way through the crowd for a good view of whatever it read. She saw the trio, and they waved her over.

"Any idea what that says?" Ami asked, gesturing behind her.

"No idea. Let me check." Ron, being the tallest, took the initiative and stood on his tiptoes so he could see above the heads of their peers and read the sign aloud.

_TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT_

_The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early._

Harry smiled at that. "That's Potions! Snape won't have time to poison us all!"

_Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast._

Ami suddenly remembered her vision. _A flash of gold... Bubbles and an underwater metropolis... Tall hedges... A graveyard and a flash of green..._ The Triwizard Tournament. Of course! How could she have forgotten? Ami swore to herself then and there that no matter what she wouldn't enter. Because if she did, she'd be messing with time, which was definitely not good. Besides, would she even be able to pass the Age Line? She was as old as the Earth, even older perhaps, because she was an Old One; someone who could control time and space. But her body was relatively young. She had just turned fourteen years old. So does that make her old enough to pass a simple Age Line? Ami shook the thought out of her head. She wouldn't ever know, because she wasn't going to try it.

Everyone was excited about the Welcoming Feast and the newcomers. Pictures were scrubbed clean of dust and dirt, and suits of armor were polished and oiled to Filch's liking. And all throughout the school rumors were started about who would enter, and talk was constantly bringing up the Tournament and the competing schools.

At breakfast on the thirtieth, the morning of the day when the guests were to arrive, the students of Hogwarts found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from each of the walls–one for each of the four houses, and the largest banner of them all was the Hogwarts coat of arms, which hung proudly behind the staff table.

Ami waited in anticipation for the day to turn to evening. She had reread the fourth book instead of sleeping, and had to unravel a string containing the energy of a tidal wave that she had braided earlier that year to gain the energy to compensate for the energy she had lost. Ami barely noticed what she was eating, if she was even eating at all, being consumed by thoughts of the events that were to take place and her role in them, when Ron poked her in the shoulder. Hard.

"What was that for?" Ami demanded sharply. Ron gave her a disgusted look and pointed at her plate.

"What's _that_?" he asked, making a gagging noise. Ami looked down. All she saw was a plate full of orange and red leaves, drizzled with purple sauce and blue bits of meat.

"It's _minife_, Ron. It's a rare delicacy, and some people enjoy eating it!"

"Oh yeah? And what planet is that on?" he asked.

Ami frowned at him. "Tons of them." And she continued to eat, engaging herself fully in the thoughts that appeared in her mind, oblivious to the rest of the world. _No matter what happens,_ she thought to herself resolutely, _I will not get involved. Not for anything._

Being too wrapped up in her thoughts, Ami was only vaguely conscious of the comings and goings of the others at her table. Her mind was completely elsewhere. She was back with Godric, sitting with him, discussing the Triwizard Tournament, on a day very similar to today; the day the foreign students would arrive.

_It was bright and sunny inside the castle, and all of the students were talking animatedly, anticipating the arrival of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Amy sat on the right of Godric Gryffindor, who was barely eating._

"_What's wrong, Godric?" Ami asked softly. He pushed his food around his plate and looked pensively at the Great Hall's gigantic doors before he answered._

"_I'm nervous. This is so new. Can we actually pull this off? I'm beginning to think this is a big mistake." He sighed and his shoulders drooped. "We won't be able to pull this off. Why even bother?"_

_Ami placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It'll be alright. You have me to help you!"_

_Godric looked at her and laughed quietly. "Yes. You've been a lot of help to us. If only you could stay longer." He dropped his eyes to his plate sadly and began picking at his food once again. Ami shifted uneasily in her seat._

"_You know I have to leave after the Tournament is over. I wish I could stay longer, but I can't. I'm sorry. But I promise I'll come back and see you again."_

"_You promise?"_

_Ami smiled warmly. "Promise." The two friends shook hands and laughed._

"_Where do you have to go after this year, anyways?" Godric asked curiously._

_Now it was Ami's turn to look down. "Home," she said softly. "I haven't been home in a long time. It's about time."_

"_And where's home?" But all Ami did was shrug her shoulders and turn away. Godric heard a sniffle and saw Ami brush something off of her face. A tear? But when she turned away, her face was dry and showed no sign of crying. She gave a shaky smile and shook her head._

"_Home."_

But Ami had not gone home. She didn't even know where home was. Winding Circle Temple and the Jedi Temple were the two nearest things to home, but she hadn't visited the former for years, and the Jedi Temple was becoming more unfamiliar to her each time she went. A sense of not belonging washed over her, and Ami soon found that she had to keep tears from dripping down her face. Ami knew the truth. She belonged nowhere, because she was a drifter of sorts, always off on missions and never staying in one place for long.

The swishing of owl's wings interrupted her depressing thoughts. Hundreds of owls from the morning press flew into the Hall, and three settled in front of Ami. The first two were letters; one was from Niklaren Goldeye, her teacher from Winding Circle, bidding her to stay whenever she had the time, and the other was from her brother, Tomas, who lived with Ami's family in America. Tomas was a Jedi Apprentice, much like Ami was, only he didn't have the same aptitude and magical prowess that Ami had revealed ever since she was three. He wished her a good mission, and Ami smiled as she read his letter, which was filled with heart-felt messages and blessings. And she did brush a tear away after she put his letter down and picked up the last.

It was a folded piece of parchment, and as Ami held it she shuddered from the ominous feeling she got from it. She was not going to like what it said. With trepidation she opened the parchment.

It was a threat.

Ami looked up at the staff table, and she looked for Moody. He was smiling slightly, his gash of a mouth twisted into a demented shape. And she knew instantly that he had sent her the threat. One part of it didn't make sense though. It mentioned a dear friend. But what dear friend was he talking about? She hadn't really made any friends at Hogwarts. _So who could he mean?_

Hermione shook her out of her thoughts. "Come on, Ami. We'll be late for class if you don't hurry!" Ami looked at her wristwatch and saw that Hermione was right. They had five minutes to get to class, and Ami hadn't finished eating.

She reached for her letters and stuck the first two in her belt. The last letter, however, was nowhere in sight. "Hurry up!" Hermione said. Ami pushed aside plates and goblets in search for the threat, but the only things she could find was a pile of fresh ashes.

Ami and Hermione walked to class, Ami's mind still on the threat. She could remember it perfectly in her mind.

_Tell anyone about you know what, and your dear friend gets it._


	9. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

_Beauxbatons and Durmstrang_

Everyone was in a pleasant mood the rest of the day, not being very attentive in classes, happily anticipating the arrival of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Everyone except Ami, that is. She too could not concentrate in class, but it was for a different reason than the rest of the school. Ami's mind was still on the threat she had received earlier at breakfast. _No matter what happens,_ Ami thought, _I always seem to feel the exact opposite of the rest of my peers._

All of the students in Potions seemed extremely pleased when it ended half and hour earlier than normal, and this time even Ami rejoiced. It was good to get away from it all and take a break from learning every once and a while.

She rushed down to the Entrance Hall with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, where teachers were putting everyone in lines. Ami lined up with the rest of the fourth years, and waited for the delegations to arrive. The threat loomed once again to her mind, but Ami forced it out, telling herself that now was not the time to dwell on such matters, when instead she should be looking for the new students.

Ami looked towards the sky, recalling that Beauxbatons came first from a flying carriage. Soon a speck could be seen flying rapidly closer and closer to Hogwarts.

"Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons has arrived," Dumbledore said from the back of the student body.

"Where?" a sixth-year asked excitedly.

"There!" Several children pointed at the growing dot. Ami just stood there quietly, listening to people's guesses as to what it was.

"It's a dragon!" a first-year shouted, completely losing her head.

"Don't be stupid... it's a flying house!" said Dennis Creevey, the boy Ami had saved out of the lake at the beginning of the year.

Ami shook her head with a small smile. The horse-drawn carriage was indeed the size of a house. It flew over the Hogwart's grounds until it landed. There were a dozen winged palominos, all three or four times its normal size, pulling the carriage over to the students. And then everyone gasped, including Ami.

The door had opened and a boy in pale blue robes had jumped out to pull down a set of golden steps. And then the largest woman anyone had ever seen stepped out after the boy. She looked even larger than Hagrid!

Dumbledore started to clap for her and the dozen boys and girls that had come out after their teacher. After the students got over the overall shock of it all, they too clapped, and the applause rang out in the open area. The large woman stepped forward and was met halfway by Dumbledore. He bent (albeit very little) to kiss her hand, and he greeted her warmly to Hogwarts. He said something to the students as well, but Ami had stopped paying attention a while ago.

She had felt a deep disturbance inside of her, a tug on the part of her that sensed danger. It was coming from the lake, so she instinctively started for the shore to meet the danger head on. But before she had gotten very far, Hermione grabbed the back of her robes.

"Ami!" she hissed. "Where do you think you're going?"

Ami stopped, almost out of line when she remembered she was supposed to blend in with the other students. "Thanks Hermione," she said quietly, keeping her eyes fixed on the lake. Whatever it was would soon be approaching, and Dumbledore could take care of it.

Suddenly a whirlpool formed in the center of the lake, as if whatever was making it came from below. And soon a piece of wood started emerging out, and it grew larger and larger until it became clear that this was part of something much bigger; a ship. And Ami remembered right away that the danger approaching was Karkaroff with Durmstrang. Ami had merely picked up on the Death Eater's presence before he got to the surface.

Once the ship had docked and its passengers unloaded, the students greeted and ushered inside, the teachers led everyone else into the Great Hall. Ami sat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, like she usually did, but she couldn't shake off the danger she felt deep within her. It was beginning to make her head whirl and her stomach flip.

She was aware of the whispers all around her about the new arrivals, and the look of scorn on Ron's face as he saw Draco Malfoy talking to Viktor Krum, a person, as Ami saw now, as someone she'd very much like to meet. As soon as that thought entered her brain, however, another one pushed it out. She was hungry.

Dumbledore had made a short speech to everyone, welcoming them to Hogwarts and wishing that their stay would be enjoyable. Then the feast began.

Thoroughly famished after her long day of doing nothing, Ami looked around her as the plates filled with food. Familiar dishes as well as ones Ami had never seen filled the four house tables and the staff table, but thankfully some galactic food remained, isolated in a little patch right in front of Ami. She smiled. _Those house-elves are good._

Halfway through her meal, which consisted of mainly of soup (of Ami's own invention–it revitalizes and wakens the one who partakes in the dish) and hot chocolate (a favorite of among many of the more high-tech planets), Ami had just started on some minife when a girl from Beauxbatons walked over.

She came from the Ravenclaw table, asking for the bouillabaisse. She had a sheet of silvery blonde hair that fell down almost to her waist. She struck a chord of familiarity with Ami, and as she watched Ron and a few other boys rendered helpless as they stared at her, she realized that the girl must be Fleur Delacour, a veela. One of the Triwizard champions.

Ami smiled at her as Fleur passed with the bouillabaisse. Fleur, however, crinkled her nose in disgust and turned her head away.

"What is zat?" she asked, her tone similar to Ron's when he had asked the same question. However, Fleur asking it managed to somehow make Ami even more irritated than when Ron did.

"It's _minife_," she said in a sweet voice, glaring at Fleur, who's face hadn't changed in the least. "It's good. Would you like some?"

Fleur stuck her nose in the air. "No zank you," she said haughtily, and with almost every boy's eyes on her she stalked back to the Ravenclaw table. Ami could see the rest of the Beauxbatons students pointing at her and laughing behind their hands.

Ami shut her eyes and sighed deeply. _It's going to be a long year._

"When you've both put your eyes back in," Hermione said briskly to Ron and Harry, who were still staring at the Ravenclaw table (although at different girls, Ami was sure), "you'll be able to see who's just arrived."

She was pointing at the staff table. Ami followed Hermione's eyes and noticed that four extra chairs had been added. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime had taken the two seats next to Dumbledore, and two men were settling in the remaining chairs. One looked jovial and childlike–his short blond hair, rosy complexion, and round blue eyes made him look like an overgrown schoolboy. The other man looked much older. He had short, neatly combed grey hair and a perfectly straight mustache.

"What are they doing here?" Harry asked in surprise, looking at the two men as well.

"They organized the Tournament, didn't they? They probably want to be here to start it," Hermione said. It made sense. _So they must be Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch, _Ami thought, her eyes lingering on Mr. Crouch. _There's a dead man walking._ Then, shocked, Ami looked at Moody's regular seat. It was empty and been pushed aside to make room for the four guests.

"Where's Moody?" Ami asked carefully. She didn't want to raise suspicion–not yet anyway. Hermione looked over to the staff table again and shrugged.

"He doesn't really like feasts, does he?" Harry responded slowly.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "He wasn't at the first feast we had, at the beginning of school. Maybe he's peoplephobic."

"It's agoraphobic, Ron. Honestly!" Hermione grumbled.

_Or maybe he just knew who was coming, _Ami thought darkly. The remains of the meal disappeared from the table, and the golden plates were left gleaming, until they were filled again with puddings of all sorts, and in the case of Ami, a cake normally made only on Alderaan.

Soon dessert too left from the plates, and everyone, stuffed and excited, turned their gazes on Dumbledore.

"The moment has come," Dumbledore said, smiling at the packed Great Hall. Everyone's face was turned up towards Dumbledore, awaiting what he had to say. Ami was looking at him too, until she felt a buzz at her side. Her comlink.

Ami sighed. This was when she wanted to be present. She wanted to listen about the Tournament. It brought back so many fond memories from the summer when she had travelled back in time to the period when Hogwarts was newly formed, and the four founders still lived in harmony.

She stood up, and slowly left the Great Hall, giving Dumbledore a meaningful look as she turned to leave. He understood and gave a slight nod, and he continued his explanations of the Tournament.

Ami shut the door to the Hall as quietly as she could, then she started pacing as she pulled out her comlink.

"Yes?" she said into it tersely.

"Ami?" Mace's voice crackled to life. "Is everything all right?"

"Of course it is." Ami toned her voice down this time; she was sorry that she had used such a harsh tone with Mace. As a Jedi Master and one of her friends, she didn't want to disrespect him.

"You haven't contacted us in a long time. We were all worried that something happened to you," he said. The Jedi's voice was filled with concern.

"I'm sorry I haven't called. I've been busy with work here. But," she said quickly, before he could reprimand her, "I promise to update more frequently."

"How is everything with you?" he asked. Ami hesitated. She recalled the threat from breakfast, and the disturbance she had received from before Karkaroff had arrived, Was it really Karkaroff, though? She didn't feel anything too menacing inside the Great Hall... And now that she thought about it, the danger didn't come from the lake. It came from beside it.

She quickly relayed the day's events to Mace Windu, who listened to every word she said. "So what do you think I felt?" Ami concluded, shuddering as she remembered the way she had felt before the Durmstrang students arrived.

"Perhaps it was the teacher that sent you the threat."

"It is him–"

"Or perhaps," Mace continued, drowning Ami out. "Perhaps it was whoever you felt by the lake."

"Maybe," Ami said, even though she doubted it. The look Moody had given her after she read the threat... he _had_ to have sent it.

"Who could he mean, though? What friend? And what's 'you know what?' I don't have any friends at Hogwarts; not unless you count Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but we're not that close. Could he mean Obi-Wan? Or do I have some other friend that I'm forgetting right now?"

Ami could tell Mace was thinking over what she had told him. He was probably even discussing it with Yoda, though why Mace didn't put Yoda on was beyond Ami. Not that she really cared. She just wanted to understand what was going on.

"Is there anyone around Hogwarts that you are friendly with? Anyone else from Earth, for that matter?"

Ami thought hard at what Mace was asking. There was her family–her parents and Tomas, and that was basically it, unless she moved through time. Then she would have a lot of friends. There was Will Stanton, another Old One like herself, and her teacher and mentor Niklaren Goldeye, the one who taught her magic when she was three. Then within the school itself there was Godric and the other founders, and a few of the other people she met then. But that was basically it.

"Tomas is really the only one I could think of that could be my 'dear friend,' but he's my brother. Also he's in America right now, so how anyone would know him..." Ami bit her lip. Who could this refer to?

Mace sighed. "Why don't I get back to you, tomorrow night? I'll try to think of who you are friends with. And why don't you go tell Albus Dumbledore your problem? He could help."

Ami considered this proposition for a moment before agreeing to speak with the headmaster. She ended the communication and leaned against the wall, thinking.

Then there was the rumble of hundreds of feet stomping towards Ami as students pushed their way through the door and out of the Great Hall on their way to bed. Ami was about to follow them when she spotted Moody limping along the corridor. Feeling uneasy, she slipped instead into the Hall through everyone, employing a trick she learned while evading her enemies through thick crowds.

She spotted Ron easily enough, his hair and height making him recognizable. Ami knew Harry and Hermione were not far behind. Again she saw Viktor Krum, standing next to Karkaroff as they waited to exit the Hall, the rest of Durmstrang not far behind.

Ami walked up to the staff table where Professor McGonnagall was talking with a few teachers. Along the way she passed the Goblet of Fire which had not yet been moved into the Entrance Hall. Memories flooded Ami's mind as she looked at the Goblet, with the brilliant blue and white flames dancing on the rim of the wooden cup.

"Waiting for something, Ami?"

Ami looked up. Professor McGonnagall was staring down at Ami, her expression unreadable. "I wanted to talk to Professor Dumbledore," she murmured.

"The Headmaster is very busy," McGonnagall said loudly. Ami dropped her head. She didn't know why, but whenever she spoke to McGonnagall, Ami felt unimportant and insignificant. And even if it was only for a little while, Ami relished it, letting the feeling sink in fully. She didn't like being the center of the universe.

"I know he's busy," Ami said, "but it's important."

McGonnagall studied the young girl in front of her for a moment before curtly nodding her head. "Very well. I shall retrieve him immediately."

Ami took small comfort from the words however. She wasn't sure she wanted to see the headmaster. But Ami had a sense of growing unease. She knew she had to see Dumbledore, before it was too late.


	10. The Goblet of Fire

The Goblet of Fire

Ami felt like she waited for an eternity. She stood in the front of the Great Hall, staring at the Goblet of Fire, an object that brought a sense of intense familiarity to Ami.

The blue-white flames flickered in the darkening Hall, as the ceiling dimmed with the night outside. The dancing blue flames licked the rim of the Goblet of Fire, and as Ami watched she lost herself in the movement of the flames. Fire had always been her favorite element.

As she watched the flames twirl furiously around the Goblet in a dance known only to itself, Ami recalled when the Goblet was first used, over 1000 years ago.

"_Is it almost ready?" Godric asked, his bright blue eyes shining with anticipation. Ami looked up from her work and laughed. He looked so boyish, the way he waited expectantly for her to finish her work. She was washing the cup thoroughly with a heat-resistant potion that she had invented just for this purpose._

"_I'm almost finished, yes." She smiled at her friend and he smiled back._

"_Good. You've taken ages with it!" He held up a ladleful of the potion Ami was using. "Are you sure this will last a long time?" Worry creased his handsome face. Ami smiled reassuringly._

"_I'm positive. It will last thousands of years." The potion she used was not only long lasting, but would also withstand thousands of degrees of heat. It was a potion Ami had been trying to create for many years, and just now she felt that she had gotten it right._

_She looked out at the rest of Great Hall, who were for the most part waiting impatiently for her to finish. At the staff table, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin and the Headmasters of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang all waited as well, except they seemed to contain a little more patience. They knew it would have to take a long time if they wanted the Goblet to last. They all hoped the Triwizard Tournament would last for many years, and that it would be successful enough to continue._

"_Almost... and just... a little more... almost..." Ami murmured. She was rubbing a rag over the surface of the roughly hewn wooden goblet, making sure to fill every crack and fissure. It wouldn't be good if the Goblet burned up on only the first use. "And... finished."_

_Triumphantly she held up the cup for all to see and admire. Only the professors really clapped, for the students had no idea what was so special about the Goblet. It was just a simple and plain cup made of wood. It wasn't even constructed well. It was too rough, the outline barely recognizable as a cup at all. But they clapped all the same, eager to get on with everything._

_As she placed the Goblet on top of the wooden chest it would be stored in, she smiled slyly at Godric. "May I?" she asked._

"_Be my guest," he replied, an equally sly look in his eyes._

"_I present to you," Ami announced, staring at the students, "the Goblet of Fire!" She touched the rim of the cup, and instantly blue-white flames sprung into life. The Hall's lights were all dim, but the light from the Goblet of Fire was bright enough that it lit up the whole hall. The once insignificant-looking cup of wood had become a stunning goblet alive with brightly burning fire._

_The students cheered and stomped as Ami looked towards Godric, delight visibly shining in her face. Godric stared at the Goblet and then at Ami, his fair hair glowing blue as his eyes. He held his arms into the air and shouted to the crowd of exhilarated students, "Let the Triwizard Tournament commence!"_

"Ami?"

She turned towards the speaker, trying to remember why she was there. "Professor Dumbledore, I–I..."

Dumbledore smiled kindly at her. "Would you like to help me? I need to place the Goblet into the Entrance Hall." He started for the casket, and Ami met him there.

"Of course." Together they pushed the casket out of the Great Hall and into the center of the Entrance Hall, taking care not to move too suddenly, in case the Goblet overbalanced and fell.

Once in the Entrance Hall they stepped back to admire the plain yet remarkable cup, filled to the brim with blue-white flames, placed on top of a jewel encrusted chest that reflected the blue light above it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Dumbledore sighed. Ami nodded her head. She stepped up to it. The casket reached her waist, and the Goblet of Fire stood a foot higher. Ami looked down into the cup, then gently reached a hand into the flames peeking over the rim.

Dumbledore did not try to stop her. He just watched in interest as the blue flames jumped eagerly to Ami's hand. They lapped at her fingers just as kittens would lap up milk. Dumbledore smiled at the thought. Bright blue kittens licking the bowl of magic, as if it were milk.

Ami smiled as well. She felt the comfortable warmth of the fire on her fingers as the flames jumped and crawled about her hand. "It is beautiful. Very." She was silent for a moment, and then, without looking at Dumbledore, spoke again.

"I made it."

He looked at her, pleasantly confused. "I'm sorry. Did you say you made the Goblet of Fire?"

Ami nodded. "I did. It seems so long ago." She looked up at Dumbledore, waiting for his reaction. She took her fingers out of the dancing flames and walked over to him. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"You were wrong." This time she smiled at him. "Have you figured it out?"

"What could I possibly have been wrong about?" he asked, puzzled.

"Figure it out." When Dumbledore still looked at her baffled, Ami's smile grew broader. "Okay, I'll give you a hint. I met Godric one thousand years ago..."

"One thousand years ago... That was the only time you visited him, I'm to assume?" Ami nodded. Dumbledore continued, "And I'm also to assume that during the period you were with him you crafted the Goblet, since you didn't visit any other time in Hogwarts' history. Am I correct?" Ami nodded again, but Dumbledore frowned. "Are you positive of that?"

It was Ami's turn to look confused. "Of course. I would know if there was another time and place I occupied in the history of this world. But I don't know anything about that, so yes. I am positive. So, can you guess what it is?" she asked expectantly, and the look she gave Dumbledore was that of a small child explaining something to an adult.

"Let's see. You said you made the Goblet of Fire," the Headmaster began, recounting everything he knew so far, "and it was during your time with Godric Gryffindor. And the Goblet was only to be used for this Tournament, right?" Ami nodded and this time smiled as well. The Headmaster knew he was close to figuring it out. "So if you created the Goblet of Fire, which was to be used for the Triwizard Tournament and the Triwizard Tournament alone, _then that means the Tournament was devised one thousand years ago!_"

"Yes!" Ami cried joyfully. "That's it!"

"But that means history is wrong," Dumbledore said slowly. "The first Triwizard Tournament was said to be around 700 years ago. But you're telling me I'm wrong?"

"Yes!" Ami shouted gleefully. "_Finally,_ after all these years, someone finally knows the truth!"

"But there are so many books." Dumbledore sighed. "How come this wasn't written down?"

Ami opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. How could she tell him the truth? She couldn't just lie about it, because that would go against her nature. Ami never lied. She couldn't tell Albus Dumbledore that the reason nobody wrote down anything about the first Tournament was because of _her_, because of the Goblet-maker and Task-helper. Old Ones never let themselves get written about, for once it was known that they had lived in a particular time period, then it made it difficult to blend in with another period. People could always look at the book and say, "Wait, no. You couldn't have _really_ lived for 600 years, could you?" And then people would get suspicious, and the rules of Time would get tangled, and the fragility of the equilibrium would be tested and eventually break...

But then again, Ami really didn't know why the Tournament didn't get written down. It wasn't even referenced. So Ami just shrugged.

The shrug seemed to be a fair enough answer. Dumbledore thought a bit, and then slowly he asked, "Then how did the Tournament last through all those centuries? Word of mouth, I suppose," he answered himself. "And maybe the Headmasters knew where the Goblet of Fire was the entire time..." He drifted off, lacking anymore thoughts about the passing of the Tournament.

"Or perhaps," Ami added gently, "perhaps Godric's portrait told someone, 700 years ago, about the Tournament."

"Perhaps," Dumbledore agreed. "Perhaps. Now, was this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

Ami looked at him for a moment before she understood what he was talking about. "Oh no, Professor. This is not at all what I wanted to say to you."

"Then may I enquire as to what it was you wanted to say?" he asked lightly.

Ami looked at him gravely. "I think Hogwarts is in danger."


	11. Chatting with Dumbledore

Chatting with Dumbledore

"You think what?" Dumbledore asked, paling.

"I think Hogwarts is in danger," Ami repeated.

"What do you mean?"

Ami hesitated. Should she really tell him? A moment passed. She remembered that she promised Mace Windu that she would tell Dumbledore everything.

"Well, this morning I received a threat: _Tell anyone about you know what, and your dear friend gets it._"

Dumbledore looked at Ami for a minute considering what she just said. "Do you know who sent the threat?"

"Yes. I mean no. Well, I think I know, but I'm not really sure now, not after..."

"After what?" the professor prodded gently.

"Right before Durmstrang arrived, I felt... a disturbance. Near the lake."

"What kind of disturbance?"

Ami held her breath, and then let it out silently over a count of seven, just as she was taught. "Danger. I felt that someone was by the lake, and they meant harm." She paused there to think before continuing. "I don't know who it was standing by the lake, but I know that whoever it was means harm to at least me, maybe even to the rest of the school."

"And you think this person was the one who sent you the threat?"

"Yes. And it's possible that the person I originally thought was the sender of the threat was the same person as the one down by the lake. But now I'm not so sure."

Ami couldn't exactly say why she now thought that Moody was not the one who sent the threat, but she had a feeling that in this case he was innocent. Moody wouldn't know any of Ami's real friends, like Obi-Wan or Will, but someone who was not part of Hogwarts would know a lot more of Ami's life. Like a bounty hunter. With a seven-figure price on her head, it was a wonder that _more_ people didn't chase her.

The more Ami thought of it, the more confident she became that it was a bounty hunter who was waiting for her by the Black Lake.

"So can you tell me your suspicions? Who do you think sent the threat? Why would someone send you a threat in the first place?" Dumbledore looked at Ami curiously. The more he seemed to know about the girl, the more confusing she became.

"More people hate me than you think. Seriously, half of the people in the world are against me, even if they have no idea who I am. All thanks to–"

Suddenly she paled. Ami's breathing got fast and shallow. She knew who had sent the threat. "It _has_ to be him," she murmured.

"Sorry, but who is this 'him' you speak of?" Ami looked up at the Headmaster, and as the old man looked down at her, he noticed that she seemed old as well, even older than him, if that was at all possible.

"Xanatos," she breathed.

"And who, might I ask, is Zana–"

"Xanatos hates me," Ami said brusquely. "He's turned everyone against me. Well, he's _tried_ to, at least." She took a deep breath, unconsciously thinking seven counts as she did so, as she had first learned to meditate, so long ago. "Xanatos is the richest, most power-hungry person in the galaxy, and he also happens to have a huge grudge against me."

Dumbledore smiled when he saw Ami grin at her last words. "What did you ever do to him?"

Ami shook her head in amusement. "Well, when I was six, I had just found out I had a connection to the Force, and was sent to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. My second day there, they wanted to test my skills at a lightsaber, so they pitted me against Xanatos, who was the best duelist there. Needless to say, I won." She chuckled a bit at the memory before continuing. "It was only my first time with a weapon, but somehow I knew exactly what to do."

"Perhaps it was instinct," said Dumbledore. Ami agreed.

"No matter what it was, however, Xanatos still resented me. He detested my natural ability at fighting, when it had taken him years to develop his skills. He made it a habit to challenge me every once in a while, but I still won, no matter how much he had improved. So he began taunting and teasing me whenever he could. But when he saw that _that_ didn't work either, he tried a different thing–instead of hurting me, he hurt the people I cared about. He would tease them instead, calling them names or injuring them badly during fights. He would even threaten them if he wanted me to do something. Of course, I didn't pay as much attention to this track of harm as I should've... Xanatos got away with it, over and over. And he really did hurt me, in the only way he could: emotionally. By hurting others, he in turn hurts me."

Dumbledore shuddered, and Ami turned away from him. Her face was impassive, her eyes glazed. There was no trace of smile, no sign of Ami's good-natured personality anywhere. She stared once again into the flames of the Goblet of Fire, but this time she wasn't really seeing them. She was remembering her summer, when Xanatos had given her lots of trouble.

"Ami?"

She shook her head. Now was not the time to reflect on her painful summer past. "Xanatos has taken it as a personal duty to make my life as miserable as he can. He threatens as many people as possible, and follows through on almost all of the threats, too. '_Tell anyone about you know what, and your dear friend gets it._' I just wish..."

"Yes?" Dumbledore asked softly. He was beginning to pity the young girl in front of him. She seemed so innocent, so undeserving of hardship.

"I just wish I knew what this meant. It could mean so many things... and all of them different. But they're all the same, if it was from Xanatos." She turned swiftly towards the headmaster but turned away almost as quickly. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" he asked, baffled.

"You pity me. You don't think I deserve this treatment, do you?" Dumbledore averted his eyes, for that had been exactly what he was thinking. "I hate pity. And I deserve this, and so much more. I really do. You don't even know."

"Then tell me."

Ami looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Do you know why I'm so well known?" she asked, her words halting, as if she had forced them out. "Because I have power no one has, I have the ability to do things no one else can. People hate me and they fear me." She rushed on, not letting Dumbledore answer. She wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. "They don't understand me at all. And I don't do anything to stop their feelings. I try to help people as best as I can, but I have so many secrets, and so many rules to follow. And the responsibility is so great," she moaned. She looked up at Dumbledore almost pleadingly. "I wish... I wish I didn't have this life. It's such a burden. I can't hate, for that would lead me to the dark side, which is forbidden. I can't get angry, for that too leads to the Dark. I can't mess up Time, and yet I am sent on missions as a peacekeeper! I can't help anyone, for I'm not part of their story! And yet, I am always involved. Always! I feel... I feel as if I shouldn't be living right now. I do nothing but wait, lurking just out of sight in case anything happens. But even then I can't do anything about it. Sometimes I wish I was just a normal person, who didn't have the responsibility of the Balance, who didn't have to make sure they follow the life that was put down specifically for them, to the dot. But I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Not even Xanatos."

Dumbledore hid a smile. "Why not Xanatos? If you dislike him so much, why not let him be tormented as you are?" The corner of Ami's mouth twitched.

"Can you imagine the kind of world we'd be living in if Xanatos took over the equilibrium? The galaxy would be in chaos! We'd all have to listen to him! And for all the times I didn't meddle in affairs, he would meddle ten-fold and then some, just to cause trouble. Oh, what a horrible world that would be! It's times like this that I'm glad I do what I do." She sighed deeply. "I shouldn't rant like this. I really do like my life, I do! It's just that I hate feeling so... helpless. You know, sometimes I wonder what would happen if I was to just _happen_ to do something that would alter the equilibrium. I mean, how much would things change?"

"Well," said Dumbledore, a twinkle visible in his blue eyes, "I guess we're about to find out, aren't we?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're not written into this story, are you?" he asked, a mischievous grin adorning his visage.

"No, I'm not, am I?" Ami asked carefully, beginning to smile too despite herself.

"Well, you seem to know what's about to happen. I wonder how much you being here will change the future events." He smiled to himself as he motioned for Ami to step aside as he placed an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire. "We shall see, shan't we?"

Ami nodded, giggling. "You are like Godric Gryffindor when you think like that." Dumbledore looked at Ami, his eyebrows raised.

"Am I? I'll take that as a compliment, then. Goodnight," he called, and he walked away, pulling out a matching sleeping cap from his robe.

"Goodnight!" Ami hummed all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. She was feeling loads better, thanks to her chat with Dumbledore. _Thank the gods for people like him. If only there were more out there!_

The next day was Halloween. Since it was a Saturday, Ami woke up extra early, knowing that people usually slept late, which would give her plenty of time to be alone. She walked around her tropical paradise bedroom, mentally thanking Godric yet again for keeping it intact.

She jumped down off of the tree she slept in and began to make her way to the beach. Halfway there, she saw the door leading to the corridor outside the room. On impulse, she turned toward the door. She then opened it, and without thinking went through the doorway and shut it, the numerous spells locking the entrance to her personal room from intruders.

She made her way outside to the lake. Already wearing her bathing suit, she decided to take a swim on the school grounds, instead of up in her room. It would just be a little colder, that's all.

As Ami made her way down to the edge of the lake, she saw the Durmstrang ship was floating near the middle, and with a jolt, she noticed that someone was already in the lake. From this distance, Ami could tell it was a boy, and for some reason she found herself wishing that it was Viktor Krum out there.

Pulling off her cloak and shoes, and unbuckling her belt, which held her lightsaber and wand, Ami walked up to the water, feeling it wash onto her bare toes. It was chilly. She dove in.

The water was freezing, but Ami merely used her magic to tap into the earth to heat herself with the perpetual warmth found there. The water then felt cool and delightful, but Ami paid that no heed. She stared instead at the boy in front of her.

"Hi," she said shyly. "I'm Ami."

The boy looked at her oddly, frowning slightly as water dripped off his prominent nose. "Viktor," he responded. "So you like svimming in cold vater too, I see." He smiled, and Ami found herself smiling back.

"It's not that cold, really." Although she never actually blushed, Ami felt the heat radiating off of her face. She dismissed it as simply excess heat she had borrowed from the ground. "So..."

"Vat makes you vant to go svimming in the morning?" Viktor Krum asked, smiling at the younger girl in front of him. She looked a little flustered when she answered.

"I just like water. And swimming. I like to swim in water. Not that you can swim in much else, can you?" She chuckled nervously and silently scolded herself. Why was she acting so awkward? She knew how to talk to guys. Most of her friends were guys! She had never lost her cool like this before. What was going on?

"Are you going to breakfast?" Viktor asked. He smirked at the girl as she floundered for an answer before nodding her head. He had dealt with fan girls before. It was best to just get away as soon as possible. "Good. I'll see you there then."

Ami gaped as Viktor dove underwater and disappeared from sight as he made his way back to the Durmstrang ship. Ami headed to shore, disappointed in herself. What had gotten into her? Nevertheless, as Ami dried herself off upon walking ashore, she decided that life would be interesting with Viktor Krum around.


	12. Triwizard Champions

Triwizard Champions

As Ami entered the Great Hall for breakfast, she saw some of the Durmstrang boys next to Viktor Krum laugh openly and point when Ami glanced at Viktor. Viktor himself just smirked and gave a slight nod. Ami felt her face heat up again and she sat down, awkwardly aware of the stares she was getting. She could tell people had already started whispering about her. _Well let them,_ she thought boldly. _See if I care._ Viktor had acknowledged her. That made up for all the things people could say about her.

"Good morning, Ami," Harry said, jolting Ami out of her thoughts.

"Hey Harry! It is a good morning, isn't it?" Ami replied cheerfully.

"People are talking about you," said Ron, and Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. Ami smothered the urge to giggle.

"People talk about me a lot. I don't mind anymore." That was half truth; of course she still minded. But on a glorious morning such as this...

Ami helped herself to her normal breakfast of apple butter pancakes and hot cocoa. She hummed quietly to herself, not listening to the conversations around her. She used the Force to feel everyone's presence around her, and when she felt movement behind her, she hastily finished her breakfast. Viktor was leaving the room.

She swiftly followed him out and was considering going up to him to chat when she realized that his friends would laugh at her some more. Not wanting to be humiliated in front of Viktor, no matter how much she told herself she'd be okay with the teasing, she forced herself up all of the stairs to her room. She had to keep her mind off of Viktor Krum somehow. She fingered her belt and stopped over the comlink. It was time to give Obi-Wan a call.

"Hey Obi-Wan!"

"Ami! How's everything on Earth!" Ami's best friend's voice said happily. Ami snuggled up to the tree below her hammock.

"It's alright. They're picking the champions from the Goblet of Fire tonight. And guess what? I–"

"Don't tell me. You put your name into the Goblet," Obi-Wan laughed. Ami shut her mouth tight. She was about to tell him about Viktor, but for some reason she felt like she should keep Viktor to herself, for now at least. She forced herself to laugh along with her friend.

"No, of course I didn't. Why would I do that? No, I was going to say that I... I made some friends."

"Really? Who?" Obi-Wan was curious. She had to tell him the truth.

"Uh–Harry Potter! And Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Yeah, they're really nice to me." Ami sighed inwardly. That was close. Not necessarily true, for Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't really her friends, but they were the closest thing she had at Hogwarts. "I can't wait until you can come and meet them," she said, hoping that this would bring his attention away from her half-lie. It seemed to work. They talked about the Yule Ball, which turned into the end of school, which ended up with the two making plans of getting together during the summer. They talked all day until the sun started to fade over the horizon. Then it was time for the Halloween Feast, and the announcement of the Triwizard Champions.

Ami left her room and made her way into the already full Great Hall. The Goblet of Fire had already been placed as the center of attention, in front of the staff table. Ami smiled when she saw it, and smiled even more when she saw Viktor on the other side of the room. He paused a moment in conversation and looked at her and waved. Ami felt an odd sensation in her stomach, as if it were flipping over. What in the galaxy had gotten into her?

She took her normal seat beside Harry at Gryffindor Table. She looked over to the Goblet; many kids were staring at it as well, and she had a fairly good view herself from where she sat.

The tables soon filled with food. As the second feast in two days, the Halloween Feast seemed somehow longer and more drawn-out than usual. Perhaps it was because of the fact that when the feast was over, the Champions would be picked, but the students didn't seem to want to eat. They waited impatiently for Dumbledore to finish his dinner, looking at the Goblet of Fire with anticipation. But Ami knew better. For the Goblet to make it's choice of Champions, it needed a full day from when its chest was reopened to work properly. Nothing could rush it. Nothing was supposed to be able to override the Goblet's magics and make it believe that there was a fourth school to choose champions from, but that's what would happen today. The worst part was that Ami knew it couldn't have been her fault either. It must've been one of Godric's spells that was altered, because it couldn't have been one of hers. _No offense,_ she added mentally.

Of course, Ami wasn't sure if Harry would really be chosen. Maybe he wouldn't be, but because it happened in the _Harry Potter_ book, it had to happen anyway.

Ami ignored the rest of the students' jitters and settled herself to eat a nice, long dinner. She had no idea what she ate, because her mind brought her back to the time when she sat for the Goblet to first decide who the champions would be.

_It had seemed to take forever for the flames to turn red, but Ami assured Godric and everyone else that this was what was supposed to happen. After all, how were they supposed to know everything? The feast had ended half an hour earlier, and the students were all talking, most of them with a bad case of nerves. No age limit had been set on the Tournament, and even the first-years were trying to comfort one another as they waited for the Goblet to make its decision._

_When it went suddenly red, and the magic Ami had stored in the Goblet plummeted, it took a moment for everyone to register what was going on, but by the time Godric had jumped out of his seat to reach for the first name, the Hall had gone deathly quiet. Everyone waited on baited breath for the name to be called._

"_Dorine Douger!" Godric shouted. A nervous looking girl who looked to be the same age as Ami got up and smiled timidly as everyone shouted and cheered for her. The Beauxbatons students were the loudest as they applauded their classmate. She made her way past the staff table and into a small room that was recently added just for this purpose. There the three Champions would learn of their First Task and what was expected of them, as well as the rules and regulations of the Tournament._

_The Goblet's fire went red again and all the applause died down. Godric was ready this time and was prepared to catch the strip of parchment as it flew to his hand. "The Durmstrang Champion is Vladimir Rovinski!"_

_A tall, well-built boy grinned wolfishly as he stood amid his year-mates. The Hall cheered for him; the girls were the loudest. A ladies' man, Vladimir winked at a couple of the Beauxbatons girls, who giggled._

_As he disappeared through the door off the Great Hall, the Goblet of Fire glowed red once more. Ami could feel everyone tense up. This was the moment they had all been waiting for._

"_The Hogwarts Champion," Godric shouted to the silent Hall, "is Rhiannon Fletcher!"_

_The loudest shouts of all broke out through the students. A girl, just a few years older than Ami, winked and smiled at Ami as she walked past. Ami smiled back and nodded. Another Old One, she was friendly to Ami, and was the only one who didn't question the story Ami gave to everyone about why she was there. Only Godric was trusted with the full story, minus the part about being an Old One, of course. All Ami said about that (and Rhiann attested to it) was that she came from a different time. Godric was satisfied by that explanation._

_Once Rhiannon had too closed the door behind her, the rest of the Founders, both Headmasters, and Ami watched Godric lock the Goblet into its casket, and followed the champions into the room._

Ami could tell the feast was over when the raspberry drizzle chocolate cake she was reaching for disappeared right in front of her fingertips. She let out a small groan of dismay, for that was her favorite chocolate dessert. But the students were getting too restless, and it was making Ami edgy as well.

"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore said. All eyes turned to him, the ones that weren't already glued to his face. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I ask that they please come to the front of the Hall, follow the staff table, and enter the next chamber, where they will be receiving their next instructions."

He took out his wand and gave a waved it in a wide arc; immediately all of the candles (save the ones glowing in the giant carved pumpkins) were extinguished. The Great Hall plunged into a state of semi darkness, the Goblet throwing off the brightest light of all. The Hall looked perfect for Halloween with the dramatic lighting and tense mood set by the students. Ami shivered in delight. The atmosphere was perfect for what was about to take place.

Everyone watched and waited, some checking their watches to count down the time. Ami didn't need it. The Goblet of Fire seeped with magic, and the last few seconds before it would make its first choice, its magic plunged, then soared along with the piece of parchment as the flame turned suddenly red. The Hall gasped collectively.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length so that he could read it with the light from the Goblet, which had turned a blinding blue-white again.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read in a strong, clear voice, "is Viktor Krum!"

"No surprises there!" Ron yelled as cheers and applause broke out. Viktor got up from his seat at the Slytherin table, slouched over to the staff table, and disappeared into the small chamber off of the Hall. As Ami watched him, she couldn't help keep down a feeling of anticipation and breathlessness. She was _sure_ that he had looked at her before he exited the room.

The clapping and chatting died down. Everyone's attention was again on the Goblet, which, seconds later, turned red again, the magic from deep within shooting and rising with the second piece of parchment.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," Dumbledore said, "is Fleur Delacour!"

"It's her, Ron!" Ami heard Harry cry next to her. Ami turned her glance to the Ravenclaw table, where a very pretty girl stood up gracefully and traced Viktor's path to the room next door. Ami frowned when she saw her. That was the same part-veela who had insulted Ami's minife the day before. Nevertheless Ami turned her attention back on Dumbledore and the Goblet, which had just turned red again.

"The Hogwarts' champion," Dumbledore said, a slight smile lighting his face, "is Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" Ron said in disappointment, but Ami could barely heard him over the loud, raucous cries from the Hufflepuff table as a handsome boy stood up, grinning broadly. As he made his way past them, they jumped to their feet, screaming and shouting. Ami smiled too–their attitude was contagious. But as soon as Cedric too disappeared into the chamber and the Hufflepuffs all sat down, Ami felt herself plunging deep down as an overwhelming sense of dark magic covered everything. The Goblet of Fire's magic too was overpowered by the dark magic, and Ami felt like screaming from the intensity of it all. But she managed to contain herself, barely. She heard Dumbledore say a few words before gasps from everyone interrupted him as the Goblet of Fire turned red once again. This time, instead of being a normal fire's reddish orange, it's color was tainted and shone blood-red, washing the Hall and everyone in it with its sickening color. Another slip of parchment flew into the air.

Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. There was a long pause while he read the name written upon it. He stared at the parchment, and everyone stared at him. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat, and read out, "Harry Potter."

Ami felt Harry freeze beside her, and felt the atmosphere of the Great Hall change. It no longer held the same casual feelings. The students sounded like angry bees, buzzing their displeasure and confusion of the fact that there was a fourth champion. It made Ami's already pounding head ache even more. She wished she could just lie down in peace.

Hermione stretched her hand across the table to shove Harry into movement, for he still sat as if frozen in time. She looked up at Dumbledore, who hadn't even noticed the commotion around him, for he too stood frozen, his attention fixed on the parchment in his hand. That was odd. It was _wrong_. In the fourth book he was telling Harry to move, and Harry was already walking the long path from Gryffindor Table to the staff table, and Dumbledore had not noticed a thing. Something was very wrong. Ami felt nauseous from the effort of withstanding the dark magic that was seeping into every pore of her body. _It has to end soon_, she thought, the magic in her stomach and head making her feel even sicker than before. _It needs to._

But she could tell by the way the magic was still churning within her body that somehow it wouldn't end anytime soon. She looked back up to Dumbledore, who had just opened his mouth to speak again.

"And Ami Majicmaster."

Ami felt the magic from the Goblet surge forward as she lifted herself from her seat. She _knew_ it would come to this. She followed Harry two steps until darkness clouded her vision. She heard someone very far away cackling, and then she knew no more.


	13. And Her

And Her

_The room was bare of the portraits that adorned the rest of the school, but it was well lit all the same. Torches were scattered around and a large fireplace was roaring merrily. The champions had gathered around the fireplace and were smiling at each other, the two girls awkward and Vladimir confident. Ami was the last one in, and she shut the door behind her._

"_Congratulations! You are the first _ever_ Triwizard Champions!" Godric said once everyone had gotten comfortable. Dorine, Vladimir, and Rhiannon all grinned. "Now that you've made it this far, however, you can't go back."_

"_Vy vood ve vant to?" Vladimir asked, and Dorine giggled, her laugh light and bell-like. Ami knew that she was one of the girls who followed Vladimir around everywhere. Not that Vlad minded, of course._

"_That's the spirit, Vlad." The speaker was the Durmstrang headmaster, a tall man with a pointy nose and thin mouth, but overall friendly face. Much like the Beauxbatons headmaster, he had graying brown hair and a hearty laugh that would fill the room with joy and banish any fears whatsoever._

"_Thank you, Professor Krum." Ami straightened up. Krum? She was sure she had heard of that name before... but where?_

"_As a champion, the three of you represent your school. You must convey the upmost respect to one another, and everyone else, for that matter, and you must bring honor to your school's name. That means I don't want to see any cheating or foul play going on, nor any rivalries or anything else of the sort. Is this clear?" Godric asked the room. Everyone nodded instantly, including the headmasters and Ami. Godric nodded as well and smiled._

"_Then let the games begin!"_

Ami woke with a start. She looked around slowly, not knowing where she was at first–or _when_ she was, for that matter. She was in the same room as she was in the dream she just had, the one where Godric told everyone the rules to the Triwizard Tournament, but the room looked... different. There were paintings of witches and wizards lining the walls, and one of them looked oddly like Rhiannon Fletcher, one of the first champions. But she couldn't be on the wall, because she was supposed to be getting the Tournament rules, just like in her dream...

"Ami? Are you alright?" Ami looked up and saw an old man's face looking down at her. She recognized that face.

"Professor?" she whispered. A slow smile crept onto Dumbledore's face. "She'll be fine," he said to the other figures in the room, each of them halfway across the room. _How odd_, Ami thought. _And here I was thinking I was back one thousand years ago!_

She started to sit up, but Dumbledore gently held her down. So Ami relaxed against the stone cold floor. It was a relief after the dark magic had wended its way through her, as if she were no more than a mere conductor of magic.

_Well, in some cases I am, I guess._ She did spend a lot of time borrowing magic from around instead of from her, and would cast things that way. She was about to contemplate more about herself, but the others distracted her.

"What are we to do? Five champions? This cannot be!" A crisp and clear voice from the other end of the room stopped all of the urgent whispers that had sprung from the others in the room. _That must be Bartemius,_ Ami said, mentally sighing. She had liked him enough when she was readingbut it was different when he was in person. A lot more annoying. And a distraction. Whatever reason there was for Ami to be put in the Goblet as well, Ami just knew that Barty would get in her way. She knew he would not like her any more than Moody did.

"What would you have us do, Barty?" Dumbledore asked, with no trace of frustration or fear in his voice. Ami admired Dumbledore.

"Zis cannot be! I will not 'ave any student of mine competing in zese odds. It is just not fair," Madame Maxime said imperiously, pulling Fleur in towards her. Then Karkaroff stepped forward.

"I agree with Maxime. _Three_ Hogwarts champions? Nowhere in the rules does it say that the host school is allowed more than one champion. In fact, with three champions, Hogwarts has enough to start their own Tournament. Is that what you are suggesting?"

While Dumbledore assured Karkaroff that this was not so, Ami looked at Harry. How pitiful he looked! Ami shook her head. _Four contestants is one thing, but five? Now that's just ridiculous._ She tried to give Harry a reassuring smile, but she couldn't make her face muscles cooperate. Harry wasn't looking at her anyways.

No one was looking at her, actually. They had all started arguing over Harry, who just stood there, shocked, gaping at them all. Ami felt sorry for him. He didn't choose to be in the Tournament. _Well, I didn't either._

She looked around one last time before slowly getting to her feet. She had just started walking towards the door so she could leave when Professor Snape, who had been lurking in one of the corners along with McGonnagal, turned to Ami.

"And what do _you_ have to say for yourself?" he asked in his delicately frosty voice. Ami froze.

"I–I... I was just–"

"_Silence_!"Snape roared. Ami stared at him, beginning to feel a little afraid. Snape had never taken that tone with anyone but Harry. "Enough excuses. How did _you_ get your name in the Goblet."

"But I didn't."

"Silence. Dumbledore informed me that you have close ties with the Goblet." Ami looked frantically over at Dumbledore. Had he told? But he just calmly shook his head no. Ami lifted an eyebrow.

"He did, did he?"

"Well, he didn't necessarily _tell_ me, but I did see you two talking together around the Goblet, and you kept staring at it. Casting a spell on it, perhaps?" Ami just stared at him. Karkaroff glared at Ami.

"Casting a spell? Eye contact is an important thing for most spells," Karkaroff said, but Ami just ignored him. McGonnagal then spoke for Ami's defense.

"How can a fourth year cast a spell so powerful? She's just a young girl." Ami almost snorted at that, but she did give McGonnagal a thankful smile.

"It wasn't just her; she had Potter's help!" Immediately everyone started yelling again. Ami tuned them out. This was boring her.

She yawned. "If I could speak?" she asked, looking at Dumbledore, who had taken no part in the arguments. He nodded and lifted a hand for quiet. "I think Ami would like to say something."

Ami thanked him silently, nodding to him as everyone turned their withering glareson her. "I don't want to be in this Tournament."

"Well, you don't have much choice now, do you?" Bagman said cheerfully. He looked at Mr. Crouch for support. "Barty looked in the rule book and he says that if your names came out of the Goblet, then you have to compete." He smiled at Harry, who just looked even sicker than he did.

This statement made everyone start yelling again. Ami put a hand to her forehead. "I'm not finished!" she said, projecting her voice above the noise. Nearly everyone in the cramped room looked at her. Fleur and Madame Maxime, however, were having a heated discussion of Ami in French. Having learned practically all of the languages known to man (and the other odd creatures from the rest of the galaxy), Ami knew exactly what they were saying, and none of it was good. "I can understand you," she said curtly in French, cutting Fleur off mid-sentence.

"If I could finish, please?" Ami glared at everyone in the room. They all thought her a weak and pathetic fourth year. Well, she'd show them. "I didn't put my name in the Goblet. I have never had any desire to be more famous than I already am." Ami thought she saw a smile flit across Dumbledore's face, but when she looked at him again, there was no trace of any emotion besides one of mild interest. "This is my first year here. I have no desire to be anything more than a simple fourth year, making her way through the year and passing all of her exams."

"I don't care what you want," Crouch said, "I want proof that you didn't enter your name in the Goblet."

"Well, there's an Age Line, first off. Secondly, the Goblet of Fire is a powerful piece of magic. Only someone truly versed in dark magic could overcome the magic of the Goblet." And to the teachers, such a person wasn't her. "Please believe me. Because if I could take my name out of the competition, I would. In a heartbeat. I don't want what the Tournament has to offer, and it doesn't belong to me."

"And how do you know?" Dumbledore asked lightly.

"Trust me."

Snape looked at her, scrutinizing her thoroughly before nodding. "She's telling the truth," he said. Moody frowned at her before he too nodded. Maxime and Karkaroff were the last to stop staring at the girl in front of them, but before long they too believed her. Ami sighed in relief. That obstacle was over.

"Well, now that we are convinced of their, well, Ami's innocence, what next? Barty?" Ludo Bagman said happily. Barty cleared his throat.

"Yes, yes. Let's see... the First Task. This task is designed to test your daring, so we won't be telling you what it is."

As the other four champions listened to Crouch, the teachers muttered to themselves, shooting pins and daggers at both Harry and Ami. But Ami just ignored everything. She already knew what the first task was. She knew what all of the tasks were! She sighed deeply. This was not the way to spend a first year at Hogwarts, especially since Ami had wanted to keep a low profile. Then she recalled a conversation she had had with Dumbledore not too long before.

"_You know, sometimes I wonder what would happen if I was to just _happen _to do something that would alter the equilibrium. I mean, how much would things change?"_

"_Well," said Dumbledore, a twinkle visible in his blue eyes, "I guess we're about to find out, aren't we?"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You're not written into this story, are you?" he asked, a mischievous grin adorning his visage._

"_No, I'm not, am I?" Ami asked carefully, beginning to smile too despite herself._

"_Well, you seem to know what's about to happen. I wonder how much you being here will change the future events." He smiled to himself as he motioned for Ami to step aside as he placed an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire. "We shall see, shan't we?"_

"We shall see," she repeated, smiling grimly to herself. She would see. There was no way she could be in the Triwizard Tournament without changing Time.

Once Crouch had finished his instructions, he and Ludo left along with Fleur and Viktor, who exited with their teachers. This left only Harry, Cedric, and Ami, as well as McGonnagal, Snape, and Dumbledore. Moody had left right behind Karkaroff. _Probably reporting to his master,_ Ami thought sagely.

"Well," said Dumbledore, looking at each of the champions. "Three champions. I don't know what to say."

"I do," Ami said softly. "Someone framed Harry and I, but I know that it wasn't the same person."

"So you know who put my name in the Goblet?" Harry asked, speaking for the first time since his name had been pulled out of the Goblet of Fire. Ami nodded, but then shook her head.

"I can't tell you who it is. He has to tell you on his own accord. The only problem is who put _my _name in. But we'll see before long, won't we?" she said, more to herself than the others.

No one said anything else. They were all too mystified about the whole situation, and left one by one through the door without so much as a goodnight to anyone. Ami was the last to leave. She took one last look around the room, as if searching for something, before convincing herself nothing, or nobody, was there.

But as she was leaving, she swore she heard a voice coming from the shadows say, "So. It's just the four champions... and her."


	14. Bounty Hunters and Quidditch Stars

Bounty Hunters and Quiddich Stars

She trudged up to her room, feeling totally disheartened. What had happened to the promise she had made, the agreement that she would not deal with Time? It had all blown away, dissolving into nothing.

She'd have to make the best of it.

She walked into her room and shut the door, afraid that with the events that had occurred, she wouldn't get much sleep that night. But her fears were unfounded, because as soon as her head touched the end of her hammock, she was asleep.

She woke the next morning, feeling oddly refreshed, and willing to get a new outlook on her predicament. It was a pleasant enough Sunday, good for a morning swim.

She made her way down to the lake, unusually cheerful, as if her subconscious was forcing her to make light of the terrible situation. Ami did nothing about it. She knew enough about her mind to know when it did things to her that ended up for the best. So she skipped down across the school grounds, thankful she was not having as bad a morning as Harry was.

She knelt by the side of the lake, consciously aware that she was looking for a splash of water or some other sign that Viktor Krum was also taking the advantage of the bright Sunday morning as a chance to swim. And when she saw him, Ami felt again the odd flip of her stomach and the warm tingles running up her spine and through her arms. This was exhilarating!

"You know what?" she asked aloud to no one in particular. "Life is great!" _I'm a Triwizard champion, Viktor is a Triwizard champion. What could go wrong?_

"Hey, Viktor!" she called once she knew he could see her. He looked up and smiled and slowly made his way to the shore where he floated languorously a few feet away.

"Hello."

"How are you?" she asked, feeling the odd sensation of something like butterflies flapping around in her stomach. But that's not possible; butterflies wouldn't survive in her stomach.

"I am alright. How are you?" He smiled again and shut his eyes, relaxing in the heat of the sun and the cool of the water. Ami waded into the water and swam until she was next to him.

"I'm fine. It's such a lovely day."

"It is," he agreed, his eyes still shut. "So, you are a Trivizard champion? Pretty impressive, for only a fourth year."

"Mmm... yeah. The water is a lot warmer than normal, don't you think?" Ami asked, trying to avoid the topic of the upcoming Tournament.

"So vot do you think the First Task vill be?" He smiled slightly. "Something to test our nerves. Are you brave enough? I know I am."

"Are you really ready to compete?" she asked, still trying to change the subject. She didn't want to lie to him. "People have died in past Tournaments," Ami said, remembering the first ever Triwizard Tournament. That had been painful. And then she remembered.

"Viktor, has anyone in your family been the Headmaster of Durmstrang?"

"Yes. How did you know this?" He asked, opening one eye and glaring at her suspiciously.

"I read about it somewhere..." she lied, kicking herself mentally. _That was the best thing you could come up with?_ But Viktor seemed fine by the explanation, and he was about to talk more about his ancestor when Ami stood up in the lake with a splash.

Viktor too stood up. "Vot is vrong? Is something the matter?"

"I don't know..." She stood up as tall as she could, but she could barely see above the steep bank in front of her.

"Vot is it?" he asked, sounding curious. Ami started to climb up the bank.

"I heard a noise. It came from over there." She pointed – straight at the forest. Now that she thought about it, something definitely didn't seem right. The Forbidden Forest seemed almost... foreboding. As if whatever was in there knew Ami was on to it, on to him.

_Him._

"I have to go," she said brusquely, drying herself off with a wave of her hand. She started to put on her clothes, but her hands were shaking too much to do anything. She couldn't face him again. Not so soon. Summer had only been two months ago.

She felt something on her shoulder and jumped. "Relax, it is just me. Here." Viktor helped her into her cloak, gently leading her arms into their sleeves. Ami turned up to him. She had never been so close to him before. He was a head and a half taller than her when he stood up straight, like now. Normally he would slouch and sink into the walls, trying to make himself appear unimportant and invisible, much like Ami did from time to time. But up close... Up close he was very impressive looking.

Ami smiled up at him, but it was a timid smile. "Thanks." She felt her face go red as she looked up at him, but she wouldn't let herself break eye contact. When would be the next time she was with him like this?

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I do not know vot it is you heard in that forest, but I vish you luck and strength in there. I guess you are brave." Then, without another word, he turned and dove back into the water, keeping his eyes focused on Ami as she too turned and walked away, growing ever nearer to the threat lying within the confines of the shadowed forest.

She could feel Viktor's eyes on her back as she walked across the lawn, smiling through the anticipation wending through her body. Viktor had just talked to her. Viktor had just touched her. He thought she was brave!

At that she stood tall, and continued forward, more confident than before. If Viktor wished her luck, then she had luck.

She passed through the trees, the light disappearing as soon as she entered the shade. The trees grew thick in this part of the forest, and they blocked off all but a little of the sun's rays. Ami adjusted her sight to that of an owl's so she could see better. Things became clearer, more defined. She could hear movement, something scratching in the distance against the trees. She shuddered, but kept moving.

She was aware of everything around her, but couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Well, centaurs and giant spiders were everything but ordinary, but it was as normal as it got in the Forbidden Forest. She couldn't feel any sense of Xanatos, no sense of his dark power; nothing around her was tainted. She kept walking.

What had happened to her in the summer should not have happened, but it did. The memory replayed itself over and over in her mind, as if by seeing what had happened a thousand times would change what had happened, change the inevitable. She knew that couldn't happen; wouldn't happen. But still, it played through her mind, mocking her, insulting her as she witnessed a thousand times over what she failed to do, and what changed her life forever.

_It was a dark and gloomy day, and the rain had just ceased. Everything around her was drenched and muddy, but she paid that no heed. Her eyes were fixed on the tall man in front of her._

"_You'll regret this, you know," he whispered, his voice light and lethal. Ami suppressed the chills she received from him. Xanatos, out of everyone else in the galaxy, had that effect on her._

_He retained the eye contact they had kept as he slowly flicked his hand; a signal of some sort. Ami could feel the air around her contract slightly, as if it too was becoming more and more tense the longer Xanatos stood there._

"_I will not give you the titles!" Ami shouted, trying to keep her voice above the shrieking wind. It was a mystery how Xanatos could whisper and Ami could hear him. It was as if the wind itself whispered his words into her ears, in a voice that chilled her to the bone._

_Xanatos just stood there, his gaze never leaving hers, as he started to laugh and laugh, the wind howling along with him. Ami wondered what was so funny, and how he could laugh at a time like this, when she could barely keep herself from running to anyplace else, somewhere not so windy or evil._

"_You'll regret this," he repeated. "If you do not give me the titles yourself, I will take them from you, and will leave you an empty, broken shell of a human, wishing that you had just complied long ago when I asked. I will show you no mercy then."_

"_You won't ever get the titles! I will make sure of it, for as long as I live!"_

"_You think that just because you are an Old One you will live forever." He smirked, his eyebrows raised in amusement. "There are ways to destroy a human, to make sure they never see the light of day again, to ensure they never come back to mess things up. It's called the Dark. And like it or not, from this moment on you will forever be an enemy of the Dark. And when the Dark finally outwits the Light and defeats all the Old Ones, you will come crawling to me and beg forgiveness. And do you know what I will do?"_

_Ami's eyes were locked on Xanatos, at his calm demeanor, at the way he appeared so relaxed. And she couldn't suppress the shudders that came this time. She tried to look beyond Xanatos, to see into the great abyss just past the imposing man in front of her, to see the other mountain peaks and clouds below the two of them. But it was as if her mind had been captured by his. It was the Light and Dark against each other, full on._

_And it seemed like the Dark was winning._

_Ami tried her best to break the contact between the two of them so she could escape, but it took more effort and energy than she could suffice. She needed so much just to stand up straight. If only he would blink!_

"_I will laugh. I will laugh and laugh and laugh as you cry and lose the will and energy to live. I will laugh as you lie in front of me, dying, begging for mercy, until you can't live anymore." And as if to prove his point, he started to laugh._

_It was all she needed. Ami took one step back, and then another, until she felt empty air beneath her foot. She looked back at Xanatos who had stopped laughing and was giving her the most piercing glare she had ever gotten in her life._

"_What do you think you're doing?"_

_But Ami just looked up at him and smiled, her smile every bit as malicious as the one that had adorned Xanatos's face just moments before._

_She took one last step back, her heels dangling over the mountain's edge. Xanatos started to shake his head, regaining his smile, but it was devoid of any true confidence. "You wouldn't dare," he sneered, his face paling by the second._

_Ami smiled wide at him, showing him the white teeth that gleamed eerily in the dim, graying air._

"_Try me."_

Ami glanced around her, trying to peer through the shadows, but she saw nothing. She sighed. She knew that the eyes could easily be manipulated and tricked, but none of her other senses had picked up anything either. She was just about to turn around and go back to Viktor when a stick broke behind her. She turned sharply, and felt something hit her shins really hard. She looked up at her assailant, and what she saw made her cry out in shock.

"Don't make a sound, and everything will be fine." The voice was deep and quiet. The attacker grabbed her arms, and he started to lead Ami deeper into the forest.

"Nothing will be fine unless you let go of me!" Ami impatiently wriggled out of the grasp of whom she figured had to be a bounty hunter. The bounty hunter tightened his grip on Ami, but it was too late. Ami jumped away from her captor, and kicked hard, sending him into the tree. The bounty hunter tried to get back to Ami, but he was stopped by a gleaming blade at his throat. Ami's lightsaber was dangerously close to his neck, and he stopped fighting and stood limply against the tree as Ami went up to him, the blue-green blade glowing in the darkness.

"Try that again and you'll find this lightsaber has run you through. Is this clear?" He nodded, fear making him tremble like a leaf. He had not known this girl would be so hard to defeat. But he had his orders, and he would not give up on his master. But he decided to play whatever game the little girl wanted to play for now.

When Ami saw the man's head bob up and down in response, Ami smiled grimly. She knew he was lying, but right now she didn't care. She knew she'd see him again.

She turned around and was about to walk back in the direction of the lake when she felt a ripple of disturbance in the Force. He raised a blaster rifle, and Ami was about to react when–

"_Stupefy!_"

"Viktor? What are you doing here?" He walked over to the now stunned bounty hunter.

"I thought you vood need some help." He trained his eyes on Ami, and she felt her heart start to beat faster. She walked over to the bounty hunter as well, putting herself right next to Viktor. She picked up the blaster in her hand and melted it to the point that it wasn't functional, and then dropped it on the ground. She looked up into Viktor's face, noticing his prominent nose and bright brown eyes.

"Thanks," she nodded. She looked back towards the lake. Then she turned back to Viktor and smiled.

"Fancy a swim?"


	15. Charms Class

Charms Class

The next day was Monday, a class day. Both Ami and Harry were nervous about going back to class. Everyone had the false impression that both Harry and Ami had entered themselves into the tournament, and made nonstop comments about it during lessons and in the halls. Harry found himself being bombarded by questions and insults, while Ami found herself more and more alone as the day went on. As it was pretty obvious that the commotion wasn't going to end, Harry and Ami even had sunk into a kind of irreversible state of depression. All they had were each other and Hermione, and even then the two had never felt so alone.

Herbology was a nightmare, with the Hufflepuffs disgracing Harry and Ami as often as they could. Normally Harry got on well enough with certain Hufflepuffs, like Ernie MacMillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, but today they were more distant than usual. It was only to be expected, because Cedric was part of their House, and he was the only one to gain them any sort of glory in the past few years, compared to the other Houses, like Gryffindor. And as for Ami, they didn't care for her; they hadn't taken the time to become friends or even get to know her, so why shouldn't they be mean?

Ami decided to skip Care of Magical Creatures rather than face the Slytherins, so she left Harry and Hermione on their own to walk to class, while she went up to her room to think.

_What I need,_ she thought to herself, _is someone to talk to._ So she unclipped her comlink from her belt. "Obi-Wan?" she said.

"Ami?" Already Ami was feeling better. She had her best friend to talk to, and he would be able to tell her that everything would be okay, like he always did.

"Obi-Wan, you don't know how glad I–"

"Ami, I'm sorry, but now is not a good time. We're hot on Xanatos's trail. I'll talk to you later."

"What?" Ami asked into the receiver, but the connection was already broken. She sat there, stunned. If Obi-Wan couldn't talk to her, who could?

She tried again. "Mace?"

"Ami, is that you?"

Ami was filled with relief when she heard the Master's voice. "Yeah, it's me. It's so good to hear someone who wants to talk to me."

"Why?" he asked, the surprise only slightly noticeable in his voice. "Is everything alright?"

"No." Ami told him nearly everything, from being picked by the Goblet of Fire to the encounter with the bounty hunter in the forest, leaving out only the details of her and Viktor talking. Mace listened with interest, and Ami could tell he was frowning in the silence that followed after she finished her story.

"Well, what should I do?" Ami asked, near the breaking point. She rarely got this agitated, but being turned down by her best friend really made Ami upset. It was one of the few things that actually affected her, besides when people were hurt for needless causes, and Xanatos.

"There was a bounty hunter, in the forest, outside of Hogwarts?" he asked in his calm, cool voice.

Ami nodded, forgetting he couldn't see her. "And you think he was sent by Xanatos?" he continued.

"I'm almost positive of it."

Mace sighed softly. "Xanatos had no way to send anyone after you. He is right now stuck on Telos, being followed by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. If he were to send someone out after you, he would have to communicate with that person, and Qui-Gon would know. But he hasn't sent us any reports of suspicious communication outside of Telos."

"Maybe it was before they started recording his communications. I told you I felt a disturbance in the Force a few days ago. What if it came from the same person? And Xanatos could have had me tracked down and watched for a long time. I just haven't gone that far into the forest yet."

"Ami," Mace said gently, "you know that isn't true. How far is your range?"

Ami thought, trying to figure out how far she was able to stretch her power. "A couple miles at least. But he could have been deep in the forest," she persisted.

"And exactly how deadly is that forest?"

He had her there. No one, not even Ami perhaps, would be able to survive in the Forbidden Forest for long. _Especially not a weak bounty hunter who gave up after a couple of well placed hits_, Ami thought, forgetting that she knocked him clean out–rather, that Viktor stupefied him.

"Think on it. I will report this to Master Yoda, and we will think of things together. Report back to me if anything else happens." Ami agreed and shut off the comlink, pondering all that she had heard. How could Xanatos have posted a hunter after her? Or maybe it was just someone who wanted the bounty on her head, someone who had seen a notice on the reward if they took her in dead or alive. But that didn't make sense either. Because the person would have to be magical in order to see Hogwarts and its students.

Ami sighed, her head full of many things, but nothing good. She decided that it would be a good time to meditate, since everyone would be off at lunch, and there was still an hour before the next class. She cleared her mind, counting instinctively to seven, like she had done ever since before she could remember. She barely remembered her first year dealing with magic, when she was just a small three year old. Niklaren Goldeye from the Winding Circle Temple in Summersea had taken her there with her parent's reluctant permission. At Winding Circle, she learned and learned and learned. Everyone was really nice to her, but she found out later that they all thought her odd and just plain unnatural. What three year old could do things with her power that even the most powerful mages struggle with on a day to day basis, if they could do them at all? It was tough for her to make friends there, with everyone thinking her some kind of demon-child sent from all the wrong gods. In fact, Ami had spent her first five years with only the company of Niko and her parents. It was only until she went to the Jedi Temple that her life really started, in Ami's eyes. It's where everything began. That's when she met Obi-Wan... and Xanatos.

Ami's eyes flapped open when she suddenly had a mental flash of Xanatos pop up in her mind. She stood up slowly, taking care of her now very stiff limbs, and looked out towards the sun.

"Almost five o'clock." The sun made long shadows on the jungle floor as it turned the sky into a deep reddish purple color. Ami smiled to herself. Obi-Wan always said she had the best view of sunsets from her room...

Ami shook him from her mind and started to walk over to the door to the corridor outside. She needed to get some food and meet up with Harry and Hermione.

She met the two outside of the Great Hall, where Harry was looking even more dejected than ever. Hermione looked at Ami crossly, like a mother who's disappointed their child didn't get better grades, but Ami could see a touch of curiousness in her eyes.

"Why weren't you in class?" she asked. Ami glanced at Harry before she turned back to Hermione and answered.

"Don't you wish you skipped class too?"

Hermione looked at Harry and sighed. Harry was looking down at the floor, oblivious to the two girls talking, which suited them fine. Hermione sighed again, and looked up at Ami, a pitiful look in her eyes.

"No," she whispered. "No. But I wish Harry had." Ami nodded in understanding. "But it would have just made things worse for him later on, or tomorrow at the latest. Everyone would want to know why he couldn't handle their taunting, and they'd just go on, making things worse. He's got to show them that he can take whatever they throw. I just wish..." she said, her voice fading in the dull roar issuing from the room right next to them.

"Ron," Ami finished. "Don't worry, Hermione. Everything will get better. I promise." And with those words, Ami felt herself get happier too, for she truly believed them. She looked at Harry, who at that moment decided to pick his head off of the ground and see where he was, and their eyes locked. "It will get better."

And Harry nodded, although Ami knew he barely heard her. And the three went in together to the Great Hall, ready to face whatever came at them, true friends with Ami at last.

The next few days were some of the worst days Harry had ever encountered at Hogwarts, but Ami found them to be like those in a city where everyone had turned on her, something that had happened in almost every city in the Inner Rim of the galaxy, thanks to Xanatos. The only difference was that Hogwarts was comprised mainly of hating kids, which seemed to make matters only much, much worse.

Ami didn't want to go to classes, which she knew was silly. Why shouldn't she want to go to class? She was used to people hating her and wishing her dead, and since she didn't think any of the students went that far in their hatred of her, she really had nothing to worry about. And even if they did want to hurt her, what harm could they actually do? They were fourth year students, and in no way capable of even coming close to Ami in magical prowess. Besides, the lack of socializing simply meant that it was easier to apply oneself in studies.

Ami just wished she could believe those arguments her head tried to convey so convincingly. Friends were nice to have.

Instead of dwelling on her problems, she tried to do extra well in her schoolwork. In Charms class, they were doing Summoning Charms. Ami was happy when she found that out. She'd been working on Summoning Charms since the day she got her wand. So it was with vigor and persistence that got Ami out of her room and into Professor Flitwick's class that morning.

"Good morning, class!" Professor Flitwick jumped off of the pile of books he used for attendance. Ami smiled at Hermione, who shared the smile as they looked at Harry. Although Ron still wasn't talking to him, the rest of the Gryffindors were, even if it was because they thought Harry put himself in. And this class was just Gryffindors, much to Ami and Hermione's pleasure. It was always rough sharing classes with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, who in the past few days had been acting more and more like the Slytherins toward Harry. So it was a sort of relief to know that there would be no deliberate sabotage in this class, at least.

"Summoning Charms," Flitwick began, raising his voice in his excitement, "is one of the hardest charms you'll learn this year. Very useful, many normal wizards and witches use this charm several times a day."

He demonstrated the charm, pointing his wand at a pillow sitting atop a pile a few feet away from his desk. "Accio," he said in a clear concise voice, and the pillow jumped into the air and flew to Flitwick, much to the amazement of everyone but Harry, who wasn't in the mood to be amazed, Ron, in a likewise mood, Hermione, who had probably performed the charm at some point already, and Ami, who had been doing something very similar with the Force since she was six.

Flitwick then handed out the pillows to groups of two, and told the class to begin, after showing them the proper way to wave the wand. Ami worked with Flitwick, since she was the only one without a partner, as Harry partnered up with Hermione.

Back and forth the pillow sailed between Flitwick and Ami, until after around the fifth time, when he pronounced Ami exceptional at the spell. He said she could work on something else while he went around to check everyone else's spellwork. Ami ambled over to the bookshelves lining one wall. She reached up and took down a book, finding its cover most agreeable. It was a deep lavender color, with shimmering silver letters embossed on its front and spine. The oddest thing about the book was the fact that it was not in English, as most books in Hogwarts were found, nor in Latin or any other language one would normally find adorning the shelves in the school's library, but in the Old Speech, in the written language of the Old One's. Ami smiled, stunned. She had only found one other book in that language, and that was the book she had read that described her powers as an Old One when she was eleven, just a few hours after she had gotten her acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

She opened the book, and decided that it wasn't the cover that had drawn her to pick this book, but the power that was emanating within that made her fingers grasp the book. And that power was _strong_.

After reading the first couple of pages, Professor Flitwick came over to her and looked down at the floor, where Ami had scrunched herself up to read. "What book have you got there?" he asked. She showed it to him, and Flitwick scrunched up his face. "You opened it?" he asked, the amazement visible on his face.

"Yes, I did. Why?"

"I have tried everything in my power to get it open, including many different spells and charms. I even asked Albus to take a look at it, and he couldn't even pick it up. What did you do?" His voice, normally squeaky, had risen about an octave in his excitement.

"I don't know. I just picked it off the shelf and opened it." Ami looked away. She didn't want Flitwick to get any answers out of her that would lead to him thinking she was anything more than she seemed.

"And you can read it? Even Albus had no idea what language it was in. And do you know how many languages he knows?" Fliwick had started bouncing up and down on his heels in wonder.

"Oh... I studied extensively with different languages back in America," she fibbed, hoping that Flitwick would believe her lie. _It was partially true_, she argued with herself. _I did study languages, up until I realized I was an Old One and didn't need to anymore_. "What I don't get," she said, trying to steer the conversation away from dangerous topics, "is why this is in your room when it is a potions book."

Indeed it was, albeit only partially. It had an index in the front, and half the book was dedicated to different potions that could be made, the other half to verbal and written spells.

"A potions book? I don't know. Why don't you bring this down to Severus and see if he knows what this book is all about. You do have Potions after lunch, don't you?" Ami nodded, afraid her lie had gone too far, and afraid that maybe Snape really would know something about the book.

Just then the bell rang, and the students exited the room, anxious to eat. Ami smiled at the tiny professor in front of her, and nodded her head. "I'll ask him," she promised, and followed everyone on her way out the door.

She hoped this wouldn't backfire on her, and made her way down to the Great Hall.


	16. The Weighing of the Wands

The Weighing of the Wands

She trudged down to the dungeons to get ready for Potions class, one of the last to arrive. She heard yelling echoing down the hallway, and passed Hermione as she ran away crying from the dungeons, her hands clamped over her rapidly growing teeth. Remembering that Hermione would have her teeth properly fixed the way she wanted by Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was the only thing that kept Ami from grabbing Hermione and helping her out.

When she reached the classroom, everyone else had gone inside. Harry and Ron were fuming when she walked into the room, over whatever it was that had caused Hermione fleeing down the corridor; some kind of fight. One probably caused by Draco Malfoy. Ami noticed Harry sat alone in the back, and she took one of the empty seats next to him, instead of her usual seat in the front of the classroom.

"Antidotes," Snape said, looking around at everyone, an unpleasant smile lighting his face. "You should all have prepared your recipes by now." Ami smiled. Hers had been completed, tested, and successful for years. "I want you to brew them carefully, and then we'll be selecting someone on whom to test one..."

Snape's eyes lit on the table shared by Harry and Ami, and for a split second Ami thought his gaze was directed at her. But after the second passed, she realized that it was meant for Harry, and Harry alone. She could see that while Snape thought about doing horrible things to Harry, the thoughts in Harry's mind too were spinning out evil plans to get back at Snape.

Then there was a knock at the door. It opened cautiously, and Colin Creevey, the brother of the little boy Ami had saved in the lake, edged into the room and walked over to Snape's desk at the front of the room.

"Yes?" Snape asked curtly.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter and Ami upstairs."

"Potter and Ami have another hour of Potions to complete." He glared at Colin, who's giant, eager smile faded off his face from the look he received. "They will go upstairs when they are finished."

Colin went pink.

"But, sir, Mr. Bagman wants them," he said nervously, his voice getting higher as he spoke. "All the champions have got to go; I think they want to take photographs..."

Harry grimaced next to Ami, who's face had blanched at the last word. Photographs? She didn't want to be in any picture, ever.

"Very well, very well," Snape snapped. "Potter, Ami, leave your things here I want you back down to test your antidotes."

"Please, sir–they've got to take their things with them," Colin said, his voice no more than a squeak. "All the champions–"

"Very _well_!" Snape yelled. His face, normally devoid of color, was starting to turn a delicate, yet deadly, shade of red. "Potter, take your bag and get out of my sight!" Harry swung his bag over his shoulder, got up, and headed for the door. As he walked by, the Slytherins pressed a button on their chests, which then gave off a faint green glow. Ami could just make out the words _POTTER STINKS_ on them. _So that is what those badges look like_, Ami thought as she turned in her seat to face Snape. He hadn't said anything about letting her leave. Ami wanted to know what was up, but knew better than to say anything.

Harry walked through the door, but Colin stayed where he was. He was looking at Professor Snape, his face white but set with determination. "Professor, Ami needs to–"

"I need to talk to her first," Snape seethed, biting down the most of his anger, Ami could tell. She could feel it radiating to the back of the room. Colin, now trembling, nodded and ran outside, shutting the door behind him.

Snape beckoned Ami up to the front. Ami got up slowly, leaving her things on the table. There was no need to bring them with her; it would only fuel the fire of Snape's anger.

"Yes?" she asked softly.

He handed her a note and spoke, his voice so quiet it didn't carry to the front tables. "Professor Flitwick gave this to me. He said you had a potions book that I might know of, one that neither he nor the Headmaster could open, let alone read. Do you have it on you?"

He looked searchingly at Ami, then moved his eyes onto her stuff still at her table. "No," Ami said. Snape's eyes met hers immediately. She could feel a cool touch on her mind, as if someone were probing it for an answer. She knew it was Legilimancy, but said nothing of it. She didn't want Snape knowing she could withstand even the best Legilimens with the wall around her mind. It was a good thing too, because the book _was_ in her bag, but she didn't want Snape knowing that. Ami wanted to have a chance to look through it first. Besides, she had no idea where Snape's loyalty lied, and how was she to know whether Snape had connections to Xanatos or not? If he did, and he gave the book to Xanatos... Ami shuddered from the thought of what the book could do under the wrong hands.

"Very well. Bring it to me after dinner. _Right_ after dinner, mind, not a minute later. Do I make myself clear?" Ami nodded, and Snape turned towards the blackboard and began to write on it. "You may leave."

Ami nodded again, knowing full well he couldn't see her through the back of his head. She backed away from his desk, and when she was sure he wasn't going to say anything else to her, she walked quietly to her table, lifted up her cauldron, collected her things, and left the room. The moment she stepped outside the room, she was greeted by an anxious yet excited Colin Creevey and a thoroughly annoyed Harry Potter.

"Hi, Ami! How are you? Isn't this exciting? What's it like being a Triwizard champion? Is it amazing? Aren't you glad you get to miss Potions? Do you even have a last name? Because Mr. Bagman didn't use one, and neither did Professor Snape. Are you like that muggle singer with only her first name? Who was she again? Are you–"

"Enough."

Colin looked at Ami in fright; she looked so serious. What was she going to do to him? But then she started to laugh. She collapsed down her cauldron and stuck it in a velvet bag that hung off her belt. She smiled jovially at Colin. "You have so many questions! How about I answer some of yours, and then I can ask a few of my own?"

They walked up the corridors leading to the Entrance Hall, Colin and Ami doing most of the talking. Harry, if ever asked a question, would only reply with a single syllable answer, but Colin never got the point.

"Good luck," Colin said when they reached the right room. Harry glanced at Ami, and after she nodded, he knocked on the door, and they entered.

They were in a fairly small classroom; most of the desks had been pushed to the back of the classroom to give enough space for three desks which had been placed side by side. They were covered by a long length of velvet. Five chairs were placed behind the desks, and Ludo Bagman sat in one of them, talking to a blond-haired witch in magenta robes. Neither Harry or Ami had ever seen her before, but Ami had heard enough about her already.

"Rita Skeeter," she heard herself say before she could help herself. She looked at Harry, but he hadn't heard her. She looked around the room. Viktor Krum (her stomach did a little flip when she saw him) was standing moodily in the corner as usual, not talking to anybody. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. Fleur looked a good deal happier than Ami had seen her so far. She kept flipping her long, silvery hair so it would catch the light. Ami knew Cedric found it attractive, but she thought it was just annoying. Another person liked watching her, Ami realized, when she saw an large man behind her, one who stood next to a camera. _Has to be Rita's lackey,_ Ami thought distastefully.

Bagman suddenly spotted the newest arrivals and jumped to his feet. He rushed over to them. "Ah, here they are! Champions four and five! Come in Harry, Ami... nothing to worry about, it's just the Wand Weighing Ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment–"

"Wand Weighing?" Harry repeated nervously. Ami already knew what it was, so she said nothing.

"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead." _Besides your mind_, Ami added silently. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing towards the witch in the magenta robes, "she's doing a small piece on the Tournament for the _Daily Prophet_..."

"Maybe not _that_ small, Ludo," Rita said, eyeing Harry through her jeweled spectacles.

Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. Ami had seen people like her before. They were the sort of people who, once they had something in mind, set their mind (and jaw), determined to get whatever they wanted.

"I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start?" Rita said to Bagman, her eyes still on Harry. "The youngest champion, you know... to add a bit of color? Unless," she said suddenly, fixing her gaze on Ami, "you happen to be the youngest?"

By the look on her face, "yes" was not the answer she was looking for. Although she would love to defy Rita Skeeter, she didn't want to be in the newspaper. "No," Ami said softly, "I'm older." Which was only partially a lie–she was born a month and a half later than Harry, but in terms of being an Old One, Ami was older than even Dumbledore, even if sometimes that was hard to tell.

"Then I guess there is no harm in having a private interview with a champion. Go ahead!" Bagman cried. "That is–if Harry has no objection?"

"Er–" Harry said. Rita beamed.

"Lovely." In a second, Rita's hand wrapped around Harry's upper arm, her two-inch long scarlet nails contrasting against the black of Harry's robe. Ami watched Rita steer him out of the room and through a door, not envying Harry one bit. Bagman turned to Ami.

"You're not jealous, are you?" he asked, his eyes jovial and bright.

"Why would I be?" Ami asked truthfully. "I was wondering... do I have to be in the photos?"

"What?" Bagman asked, confused. "Why wouldn't you want to be in the photos?"

"I'm allergic," Ami said, saying the first thing that came into her mind. When Bagman eyed her suspiciously, she added, "It's the smoke. I don't know what's in it, but the smoke from large cameras irritates my eyes. And my nose. It makes me violently sick."

"Oh!" Bagman said, shocked. "I've never heard of anything like it. But I can ask if there's another camera we can use..."

"No, that's okay. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you or any of the others. In fact, I'd prefer if I wasn't in the article at all," she added, putting the Force into her statement to bend his mind to her will.

"You'd prefer not to be in the article at all," Bagman repeated in a monotone voice. "Very well, then. I'll just have to tell Rita to leave you out."

"Thanks," Ami said, and before Bagman could say anything else to her she walked away. To the corner where Viktor was standing.

"Hey, Viktor," Ami said quietly.

Viktor looked up. "Hello." He glared moodily at Cedric and Fleur, who were conversing animatedly, and then turned his eyes back to the floor.

"So..." Ami began, casting her mind for things to say. "Are you excited for photos?"

"No." _Torklænd skir_, Ami exclaimed in disgust. _I should have known that_.

"Are you ready for the Wand Weighing?" Ami asked, and the moment it left her mouth, she wished it back. Why wouldn't he be ready? How do you prepare for something like that?

He shrugged. At that moment, Madam Maxime and Professor Karkaroff walked into the room. "Where eez Professor Dumbly-dorr?" Maxime asked in her imperious voice.

"He should be here any moment." Bagman pointed them to the seats behind the covered desks. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. You can too," he added, looking at each of the champions in turn. He too sat in one of the seats. Ami watched everyone sit. Fleur was in between Cedric and Viktor, who had chosen the seat closest to the judges. Only two more seat were left, one for Harry and one for her. They were both beside Cedric. But Ami didn't feel like talking to him, or anyone, at that moment. She was too upset with herself to bother with anyone else. So she decided on the seat closest to the door.

She had just sat down when Professor Dumbledore walked into the room, followed shortly by Mr. Ollivander, the man who had sold Ami her wand not four months ago.

"Ah, Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, you are already here. Good. Mr. Ollivander, if you may," he said, gesturing him to the seats behind the velvet-covered tables. Instead Mr. Ollivander stepped next to the only window in the room and stared out of it. Dumbledore glanced next at the champions, all lined up in a row. "But where's Harry?" he asked, his brows slightly knit. Everyone gave him a confused look, except for Ami.

"The closet." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, the twinkle in his eyes making Ami smile. The Headmaster walked over to the door outside the room and knocked.

A few moments later Harry, Rita, and Dumbledore joined them, Harry's face red and hot with embarrassment. He sidled into the unoccupied seat between Cedric and Ami.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" Dumbledore said, taking his place at the judges' table, and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

Ami looked at Mr. Ollivander, who turned from the window. If he recognized Ami, he made no motions or expressions that gave it away. Instead he turned to Fleur as he stepped into the empty space in the middle of the room.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you forward first, please?" Mr. Ollivander said. Fleur swept into the middle of the room and handed him her wand.

"Hmm..." he said. He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.

"Yes," he said quietly, "nine and a half inches... inflexible... rosewood... and containing... dear me..."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela," Fleur said proudly. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

"Yes," Mr. Ollivander said, "yes. I've never used Veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes rather temperamental wands... however, to each his own, and if this suits you..."

Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers over the wand, checking for scratches, bumps, or anywhere the magical core could leak out. Then he muttered, "_Orchideous!_" and a bunch of pretty flowers burst from the wand tip.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order." Mr. Ollivander scooped up the flowers and handed them to Fleur along with her wand. "Mr. Diggory, you next."

Fleur glided back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Mr. Ollivander said with much more enthusiasm as Cedric handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn... must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches... ash... pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition... you treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night," Cedric said, grinning. His smile was contagious. Ami smiled too.

Ami felt some sparks at her side. She looked down at Harry, who was rubbing his wand vigorously to get off the fingerprints. Fleur looked over and gave him a very patronizing look, and Harry stopped.

Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, "Mr. Krum, if you please."

Viktor got up and slouched, duck-footed, round-shouldered, and awkward. It was as if he wanted to hide from the world. But Ami knew better. She had seen him walk tall and proud. He thrust his wand at Mr. Ollivander, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Hmm," Mr. Ollivander said, "this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I... however..."

He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes.

"Yes... hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Viktor, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees... quite rigid... ten and a quarter inches... _Avis!_"

The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small twittering birds flew out the end. They saw Ami, and instead of going out the window they landed on her. _Hi_, she said to the birds. _How are you?_

_You smell like a bird. You don't look like a bird. Why not?_

Ami looked at the bird that spoke to her. It had landed on the tip of her nose and was staring at Ami with the intense ferocity only birds could manage. _I'm a bird at heart. I'd explain more, but now is not the time. Why don't you all go outside and get some fresh air_, she suggested. The birds thought collectively and agreed. They flew as one out of the window. Ami sighed.

Dumbledore was looking at her, one silver eyebrow raised thoughtfully. Ami felt her face heat up when she realized everyone's eyes were fixed on her. "Sorry," she murmured. "Please continue."

Mr. Ollivander looked curiously at her for a moment, before handing Viktor back his wand. "Good. Mr. Potter, you next."

Harry got to his feet and walked past Viktor to Mr. Ollivander. He handed over his wand.

"Aaaah, yes," Mr. Ollivander said, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."

Ami could see that Harry remembered too. She remembered herself reading about what happened, how Harry had waved wand after wand until the wand he now owned. This one had been special, for it contained a feather from the same phoenix as Voldemort's wand.

Mr. Ollivander spent much more time looking at Harry's wand than anyone else's. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to Harry, announcing that it was still in perfect condition.

"Which leaves... Miss Majicmaster."

"Majicmaster? Not _ze_ Majicmaster...?" Madame Maxime whispered. Fleur turned to her, a delicate eyebrow raised in question, but her headmistress ignored her.

Ami stepped forward slowly and, hesitating, handed her wand to Mr. Ollivander.

"It's warm," he said, and Ami could hear the surprise in his voice.

Ami smiled, but her eyes were confused. "Of course it is."

"Let's see... hazel... water... eleven and a half inches. Yes," he said, a smile breaking out gleefully on his face. "Powerful, good for scrying."

Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers over the wand, tracing some of the runes and signs Ami had engraved into the shaft of wood. He was in the middle of a complex rose pattern when he stopped and held the wand next to his ear. He shook it gently, and Ami knew he heard the calming sounds of rain traveling through a rain stick, as Ami had numerous times.

"Remarkable," he breathed. "Simply remarkable." He admired the wand with his eyes from all directions. "I remember when I dreamt this combination. I had not used water ever before in a wand, and I only use hazel once a year. I needed to see if it would work. The dreams only stopped when I finally made it." He spoke to the room, but his words were meant just for Ami.

Ami stared at him, still politely confused. He hadn't said any of this to Ami when she visited the shop that previous August.

"I knew it was designed for a great wizard. But I never knew it would be so _beautiful_. What are these markings?"

"Signs for health and power. For strength." Ami smiled darkly. "For Light."

"Light? Oh!" Maxime said, something clicking in her head, but Ami didn't care.

"And these signs work?" Mr. Ollivander asked, genuinely interested. Ami was vaguely aware that the rest of the room too was just as curious as the man in front of her.

"Of course they do. I put them on myself."

"Right. Well then... seems almost a shame to know that this will succumb to time just like everything else in this world."

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of it. And look," she pointed, "here's the sign for longevity, and here's one for durability. It will last a long time."

"Good," Mr. Ollivander said, distracted as he examined the wand even more thoroughly. Then he gave it a slight twist and said softly, "_Flagrate!_"

Lines of fire burst from the wand. Mr. Ollivander traced the rose pattern in the air, which glowed gently in the dim light from the window. He smiled at the rose sign, which faded slowly from view, the fire dissolving into nothing.

"I believe," he said slowly, his eyes trained on Ami, "that this wand is in better condition than when I sold it to you." He handed her back the wand, and thanking him Ami took her seat once again.

"Thank you all," Dumbledore said, standing up at the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now–or perhaps it would be quicker to go down to dinner, as they are about to end–"

The man with the black camera jumped and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" Bagman cried excitedly. "All the judges and champions. What do you think, Rita?"

"Er–yes, let's do those first," Rita Skeeter said, her eyes still upon Harry. Ami could see Harry was trying to avoid looking at the over-the-top reporter. "And then perhaps some individual shots."

Ami looked up at Bagman, who nodded, the look in his eyes clearly telling her that he'd take care of everything. Ami smiled and walked over to Dumbledore.

"Not staying for photos, Ami?" the Headmaster asked. Ami grinned–he caught on quickly.

"No. I don't like getting my picture taken."

"Very well. Go enjoy dinner, alright?" He smiled at her and walked over to the rest of the group who were crowding in front of the camera. Harry was looking at her sadly. Ami felt bad because she knew he didn't want to get his picture taken any more than Ami did. Viktor, too, was looking at her. Ami looked away and headed out the door. She wasn't planning on heading to dinner. Not yet.

She looked back. The only people who seemed to be enjoying the photos were Fleur and Ludo Bagman. Ami shook her head and walked out the door.


	17. A Book from the Old Ones

A Book from the Old Ones

Ami went through the jungle in her room, the magical book in hand. She treaded a path that was visible only in her mind. She hadn't used it for so long it was now overgrown with tall grasses and ferns. That didn't stop her from making her way over to the waterfall, however.

The waterfall used to be her favorite spot. She would always go there whenever she was with Obi-Wan. It was their spot, he would say, and it would stay that way forever. Of course, that had been when they were both six, and a million forevers had passed since then.

The waterfall was very high, and the water sparkled in the sun as it fell from the stream high above to the rock pool down below. The waterfall partially covered a cave opening, which contained more water inside, and a bunch of glowing rocks that shined whenever Ami was near.

Sitting beside the rock pool, Ami placed the book on her lap. It was a very old book, it's pages soiled and torn. But no matter how badly it appeared to be, no matter how poorly its shape, the pages still held on, with the binding intact. Ami could tell there were many spells and signs on it, to keep it that way, but some of them would need to be strengthened if it continued to be handled.

Opening to the index, she quietly scanned through the potions and incantations, repeating the ones that caught her interest. "Changing the winds... turning day to night... fire blossoms..." Thumbing to the page of the fire blossoms, she looked up the incantation and quickly skimmed the directions. "_Piro lerf!_" Flicking her wand towards a nearby flower, it suddenly burst into flames, the fire growing into petal-like flames. Ami smiled. It was beautiful.

She fingered the violet and red petals, the flames tickling her hands. She smiled at the flower, and then turned back to the book, looking through the rest of the spells, trying out a few others that took her fancy.

_It would be about the end of dinner now_, she thought_. Time to go to Snape._

Following the dimly lit torches in the dungeons, she found her way to Snape's room. The door was shut, but she knew he was inside. She could feel his presence in there. She went to the door, and, very slowly, raised her hand to knock. But before she could place a knuckle on the door, it opened.

Startled, she stumbled into the room. "Professor?" she called softly. She almost backed away, but stopped herself when she belatedly realized he was right in front of her.

"Do you have the book?" he asked. Dumbly, Ami nodded and held the book out to him. Snape looked down his nose at the book but didn't take it. "Here," he commanded, walking over to his desk. Ami followed without a sound., not taking her eyes off of Snape. Why didn't he take the book from her?

As if he had heard her Snape answered. "I thought it would be that book. It's about time someone opened it. It has been lying, dormant, in Professor Flitwick's office for decades." Ami nodded again, wondering briefly why he used the word dormant. Could he feel the power emanating from the book, like she could? "No one has touched it in years. The Headmaster tried to, but it burned him if he even came close to it. We all thought it was a dark book, but no one had ever heard of it, and since it was obviously placed in the Charms room for a reason, we left it there, hoping someone would be able to pick it up." He frowned at Ami. "That person seems to be you."

Ami didn't like his tone when he said that, and she definitely didn't like the smirk on his face, but what could she do? She waited to hear what he had to say next.

Snape looked from the book to her. "Is there an index of some sort?" he asked. Ami nodded, and flipped to it, not wanting him to ask her anything he didn't have to.

He took one look at the page, and frowned. "What language is this?"

Ami shrugged. "An old one." That was as far as she would delve into that particular conversation.

"Apparently," Snape said with disdain. "Well. Since you can _obviously_ read this," he sneered, "and I can't, I want you to copy out some potions for me."

" 'Copy them out?' " Ami repeated, raising one eyebrow, but keeping a smile on her face all the same.

"That's what I said," Snape said, starting to smile. "I want you to copy out the easiest potions in this book, and after I do them, _maybe_ I'll let you attempt them." His lip curled up when he spoke those words, and Ami felt her polite smile vanish.

"You want me to copy them, and then you do them? Wow," Ami breathed, "you really must trust me. Because if I were to copy it out wrong, and you were to follow my directions, who's to say what could happen?"

"That is precisely why I want to try it first," Snape said, losing his smile as well. "I am your teacher, after all, and if something were to happen with you while you were under my care, then I would be responsible. I can't let _you_ get in the way of my life," he told her coldly. Then he looked at her oddly. Ami resisted the urge to back away under such a look.

"Have you ever been to Hogwarts before?" he asked, something new present in his voice. Or maybe it was just the voice itself that was new. Ami had never heard it before; light, without its normal menace and malicious intent, and a little melancholic.

"No," Ami said slowly, covering her lie with the wall around her mind. "Why?"

Snape looked at her a moment longer, then turned away. "Nothing," he murmured. "You just look like someone I know." Then, his normal tone of voice returning, he added, "You act like her too."

The only other time she had been at Hogwarts was back when the Founders were still presiding, and Snape wasn't there with her. She tried to ignore what he had said, and how he had said it, but she couldn't get that voice out of her head. _Her? Who could he mean?_

"So I'll have the copies by next class." It wasn't a request, but an order. "Do you understand me?"

Ami nodded, a bit distracted by what just happened. "I'll have them to you by the next class." _And I'll actually make the potion the class after that_, she added silently. Nodding to her professor, Ami made her way out of the room.

Ami heard her stomach growl loudly. She hadn't eaten since lunch, and dinner was well over. Feeling a little drained from the day's activities, she headed down the corridor, trying to find her way to the kitchen. They'd feed her there.

Tickling the pear and opening the door when the knob appeared, Ami was surrounded by house-elves. "Hello," she said to the shortest one at her side, the same one who had gotten her food the first time. "I was wondering, do you still have the recipes for the foods that I gave you?"

The tiny house-elf nodded and squeaked a reply. "Of course, Miss, of course we have the recipes for you. They are fun to make, Miss, and you is giving us a reason to cook new foods. Sometimes the foods we make for Hogwarts is boring," she confided to Ami in a whisper.

Ami was made comfortable by the house-elves, despite all her protesting at standing up. They practically forced her into a chair and shoved plates of freshly cooked meals in front of her face while her food was being made. Ami sipped some hot cocoa with nutmeg, by request of the elves. Smiling, she told them it was wonderful.

"Thank you, Miss. We try very hard," the tiniest house-elf squeaked by her feet. "This is the Headmaster's favorite, Miss. He sometimes comes down to visit us and we make it special just for him, and only him. We do not make this for anyone else, no Miss, unless they is very special."

"And I'm special?" Ami asked, surprised. She hadn't realized how kind and relaxing the house-elves could really be when she read about them in the book. And their cooking was fantastic! She might have to come down here more often for meals, because they obviously took more care when cooking for one person than for the whole school.

"Of course you is special, Miss! You is Miss Ami. Miss Ami from the legends, when the Founders made this school." All of the house-elves stopped what they were doing to listen. Some of them nodded their heads, and others bounced up and down excitedly on the balls of their feet. _It must be story time,_ Ami thought, bemused.

"When Hogwarts was first made," another house-elf said, coming right next to Ami's feet, addressing the rest of the elves, "there was four Founders. The tall one, the nice one, the caring one, and the nasty one." Ami smiled when she heard the descriptions. She took them each to mean Godric, Rowena, Helga, and Salazar. "The tall one was Miss Ami's best friend, and the other two were nice to her and to us, but the nasty one was mean and hated Miss Ami. He hated all of us elves too, and treated us bad. He said we were all very bad."

Ami remembered one particular day, when Salazar had threatened a house-elf who had brought him his things at the wrong time. He had been very stressed because of the way the Triwizard Tournament was going, but that was still no way to treat anyone. Ami had stepped in and sent the house-elf away, calming Salazar down and making him promise never to harm any house-elf again.

"Miss Ami stepped between the nasty man and Twinkles and saved her life! She is forever in debt to Miss Ami. But Miss Ami disappeared and was never seen again. Until now! Now she is here and we must pay the debt to her in Twinkles's memory!"

All the house-elves cheered and clapped their tiny hands together. Ami smiled at them all. "That is very kind of you. I will take you up on repaying this debt, until we are even."

"That sounds good, Miss. Here is your food!" the tiny elf squeaked. She handed Ami a tray full of foods from out of this world. Ami ate it all, and thanked the house-elves for their work and delicious food.

"You is welcome, Miss Ami! Come back again very, very soon!" they shouted as she turned and waved, before she walked back out the door, closing the pear painting back up in the silence of the hallway, the elves' cheers ringing in the air.

Back in her room, Ami was leafing once again through her new book. She was looking at two of the potions in particular; they were the ones she wanted to make the most, and seemed to be the easiest. They would be good to copy for Snape, but Ami also had another thought, one that was a little more hidden.

She was afraid.

There were many things for Ami to be afraid about. First of all, this was all new to her. Even though the book was written in the Old Speech, it could be a fake. There were many people who weren't of the Old Ones, evil people like Xanatos, who spoke the old language. _But does that mean they can also write it? _Ami thought. If this book was indeed written by Xanatos or someone like him, these potions could do harm instead of good; or worse, while they do what it promises the potion will do, it could have added side effects, which wouldn't be as nice. Ami couldn't really take that risk. It could mean people's lives.

Another thought that bothered her was whether she could even make the potion. Although she was an expert at brewing potions, a fear made her second-guess herself. Maybe she wasn't as good as she claimed she was, and making this potion would have disastrous effects.

And the other thought that bothered her was this. When Snape found out about these potions, he would confiscate the book from her, and she'd never get to see it again, or, even worse, what if he was somehow connected to Xanatos? Xanatos would hear about the book from Snape, and eventually get it from him, and then it would be in Xanatos's possession. Then, who knew what would happen?

All she could do was wait, and hope for the best.


	18. The Potions Master

The Potions Master

Rereading her translation over again, Ami felt that she was ready to hand it in to Snape. It was flawless, down to the exact wording and proportions. Ami had translated the recipes word for word, and now some of the phrases didn't make sense. Also, the measurements used when this book was written was phenomenally different from those that were used today. Ami hoped this would encourage Snape to let her make the potions instead of him. She wanted to know if she could do it.

She walked to Potions class alone. No one wanted to be around her for very long. This wasn't helped by the fact that the First Task was less than a week away. But maybe, just maybe, if Snape let her do one of the potions, this would change.

She got to his classroom a few minutes before the class started. She wanted to give him the translations now, but decided against it. He didn't seem to be in a very good mood.

Soon the bell rang, and everyone got to their seats. Ami was alone this time, while Ron sat with Seamus and Harry with Hermione. But that was alright. Ami was in one of her moods where she wanted to be alone, in her own solitude. It was nice that way, on occaision.

"This class will be spent working on perfecting your antidotes. They will be tested soon, and I expect outstanding work from all of you. Of course, I won't get that from most of you, but that is my expectation, and you should all give your best to reach it." He looked out at the room as if to add "Or else."

Ami quickly got to work on her antidote. She could do it in her sleep, but she wanted Snape to know that she was able to make a potion quickly and efficiently. That way he'd have second thoughts about doing the potion himself first.

She spent half an hour on her potion before it was complete. It was a double potions day, and barely a third of students were on to the mixing portion of their antidote. Ami looked at her finished product. It was a clear blue in the exact shade Ami wanted. Not too light, not too dark, and not too green. Perfect. She looked up at Snape, who was pacing around the room, and she waited patiently for him to notice she was done.

Snape finally looked down at her. "Yes?" he asked, his silky voice delicately soft. "Finished already?"

Ami nodded. She waited for Snape to say something to her. She waited for a comment, disapproval, criticism, anything. But it didn't come. Instead, Snape did something odd.

Taking her arm in a tight, yet oddly reassuring grip, he led her into a room at the back of the potions classroom. It was filled with a whole bunch of random ingredients, from lacewing flies to bicorn horns. It was the store room.

"So," Snape said after he closed the door. He let go of Ami's arm, and stared her in the eyes. "You've finished."

"I did," Ami said, looking him right back. He let her defenses on her mind go, so he could tell she was telling the truth.

"It was blue."

"And...?" she asked, wondering what was wrong with blue.

Snape took a shuddering breath, as if he didn't want to tell her this. He broke the eye contact, but Ami continued to look at his eyes, wondering what was going on.

"And I've never seen anyone achieve a blue so clear, so perfect, on their first try."

Ami laughed, a light delicate sound that pleasantly filled the store room. "Well, it hasn't really been my first try. I've been making antidotes and potions like that since I was three. You can't expect me to not have them right by now, can you?" She laughed again, but Snape did not laugh. His mouth was a firm line that looked like it would never bend.

"It may not be your first time, but that doesn't mean you can show off like that."

Ami looked at him, her own smile becoming a straight line. "Show off? I did not show off. I waited patiently for you to notice I was finished."

Snape looked like he wanted to curse her to pieces. Then he looked like he didn't know what he wanted. Coming to a fast decision, he held his hand in front of Ami's face. "So?"

"So what?" Ami asked, even though she knew what he meant.

"The recipes. Do you have the potion recipes? I asked you for them by this class." His normal composure was back. The slight surprise he had gotten from Ami was over. Now he was normal Snape again.

"I do have them. They are in my bag. Should I get them now, or wait until after class?" Ami asked her professor.

Snape thought for a moment. Then he sighed. "I'd like them now, if you would." Ami nodded, and began to walk over to the door. "But don't expect to be actually making those potions. Do you happen to have the book on you too?"

Ami nodded her head, and before Snape could say anything else, she walked out of the room and over to her bag. Grabbing both the translations and the old book, she walked back to Snape. He now stood at his desk.

Ami was well aware of all the eyes that followed her there. Practically everyone in class was looking at Ami, wondering what Snape was going to do to her. Ami placed the translations in front of him, on top of a couple of potion books and ungraded assignments, but she kept the book to herself.

Snape slowly took the recipes in his hand and looked them over quickly. Then, noticing that everyone else was paying attention solely to the student and teacher up front, he barked at them all. "Do you all want to fail this grade? Get back to work!"

They hurried to do as they were told, and Snape looked over the papers in his hand amidst the scuffling noise of chopping and mixing ingredients.

"What is this?" he asked her, furious. "This doesn't make sense. This is not even English!"

Ami looked in horror at the pages in his hand, worried that they'd somehow been switched. But when she saw it was the exact same translation, she frowned. "Professor," she said softly, so as not to attract attention, "this is a word for word translation."

"And...?"

"And it uses phrases and things not geared for today's dialect. Plus," she said, trying to calm her teacher down, "there are words in that language that have no meaning in ours. Like the measurements."

"The measurements?" Snape asked delicately. "How can the measurements be different?" But after taking one quick glance at the top of the page, he saw that she was right. No one had ever heard of a palmade before, at least no one around.

"You can probably guess what they are, though," Ami said quickly. Snape only nodded. Taking that as a good sign, Ami pressed on. "You could also probably guess what the potions are for, too," she said, knowing she was taking a major risk.

Snape nodded again. Then he shook his head. "I may know what the potions in our time may be for, but it could be infinitesimally different from when this book was written. It doesn't help that there are no names for these potions. All I know is that this one has to do with increasing something, due to the excess wolfsbane, and this one has rose petals. Hmm..." Snape thought for a moment. "I have never used any part of a rose before, not the petals, thorns, or water. I know that they are a common ingredient found in the more Eastern countries, but here they aren't even used for love potions." Then he looked at Ami, a suspicious gaze in his eyes. "I'm assuming you know what these potions do. Enlighten me."

Ami grimaced. Snape had seen right through her. Ami did know there was a giant risk in asking Snape if he knew what the potions were for. He sure did catch on quickly.

"I have an idea, actually," she said lightly. "The one with the wolfsbane is used to increase awareness, I think, because the wolfsbane helps keep away sleep and makes the senses more acute when used in accordance with valerian roots."

Snape looked at her, a small frown playing on the corners of his lips. "But wouldn't that have the opposite effect?" he asked, most likely wondering if Ami was thinking correctly.

"Not in this case. The large amount of wolfsbane actually negates the sleeping properties of the valerian roots and uses only the portion that is left, which helps increase the properties of wolfsbane." Ami paused and looked at her teacher hesitantly, as if she was unsure of herself. "At least, that's what I think it does. I haven't actually tried it yet."

Snape nodded his approval at that statement. "Well, that's something good, for the most part. And the other potion? I don't think I've even used two items on this ingredient list before, and I've been making potions for decades before you were born!"

Ami severely doubted that was true, but she answered Snape nonetheless. "Well, I think it has something to do with charming people. You notice that, on their own, none of these ingredients is something a normal witch, wizard, or even muggle, would be repulsed by. The rose petals, rose water, pomegranate juice, unicorn horn... all of these items are highly revered, in one place or another. The same thing goes for the moonstone and the lemongrass, as well as the peppermint used, not to mention all of the oils included. This list is comprised mainly of items that, when looked at individually, would be something nice and pleasant, and when put together would be just amazing, at least in thought. It would probably have quite an attractive smell, and if someone were to ingest such a potion, it would probably rank them very high on a person's friend list, whether they were a friend or not."

Snape nodded his agreement. "That sounds good. I'm not sure if some of these ingredients would mix well, but having only used a few of them I cannot be totally certain of this claim." He looked at Ami oddly again. It was the same look as the one he gave her the day he assigned her with translating the potions out of the book. "You must be her," he said softly, as if he didn't want Ami to hear him. "You sound like her, you look like her... you even think the same way she did. Are you sure you have never been to Hogwarts before?"

Ami looked at Snape, cocking her head a bit as if to make sure what he said was what she heard. "No, I haven't," she said nervously. "I don't know who you're talking about."

Snape looked at her for another moment, and then shook his head to rid himself of his crazy thought. "You're right. It must be the potion fumes getting to my head. Longbottom has burned his cauldron again, I see." He stood up abruptly to take care of Neville's mess, leaving Ami alone to think about what had just happened, for the second time.

Who did he think she was? And why did he keep bringing this person up? It made no sense. She obviously had no connection to Ami. Or was there really one, and Ami could just not see it?

Nevertheless, Ami too shook her head of such thoughts. Now was not the time to wonder about such things. Right now Ami needed to convince Snape to let her brew these potions. It could be critical to the times that were coming.

A few minutes later, Snape came back to his desk after giving Neville a day of detention. Ami thought this was unusually kind of Snape, but decided not to comment about it.

"Since you seem to know only a little about these potions, I'd like you to refrain from making them as of now. I will look into them further, and if I find anything that is of use to me, maybe I will let you stay in the same room when I make the potions. How does that sound?"

Ami knew what she was expected to say. She knew he wanted to know that he'd been gracious, and caring. _Stingy and thoughtless is more like it. I've done most of this work, finding the book, translating the potions, and thinking about what they could do, while he just sits there and expects to be the one to come out on top._ Ami, however, just stood there and smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you," she said. She pulled the book closer to her, and Snape pointed at it.

"Why don't you read the rest of this, and try to figure out what the potions do, without actually attempting them. Who knows? The answers to all our questions could be in there."

"Alright, I will." She'd look again and see if there was anything she had missed. She had only looked at it for a couple of hours. Who ever got anything there was to a book by reading it through once?

Ami thanked the professor one last time, and slowly made her way back to her seat. If she was going to do as Snape asked, something Ami fully intended to do, she would need to start as soon as possible. So, settling down in the chair, she decided to start then and there.

Snape watched her read the old book, a mixture of apprehension and understanding visible on his face. He just wished someone would explain to him the mysteries of this girl. It was obvious there was more to her than reached the eye.

And he intended, much like everyone before him, to solve the riddle that was Ami Majicmaster.


	19. The Hidden Picture

The Hidden Picture

Ami sat next to Hermione. She was piling some food on to her plate, but she was too distracted to see whether she was eating galactic food or the regular British variety. She had the old book propped up in front of her.

She had been reading it non-stop since Potions class earlier, and had continued to read it through dinner. She pored through the many potions in the second half of the book, skipping over the spells and charms for the most part, except when she flipped back to some of the verbal spells. She kept muttering words and phrases that meant nothing to anyone, and pointing to random pages.

Hermione had asked once what she was reading, but after asking five times decided she was getting nowhere. She knew that when one was reading, they didn't want to be disturbed. She had been in that state many times. Instead, Hermione tried to convince Harry to feel better. Needless to say, it wasn't working.

"That's it!" Ami cried suddenly. She jumped out of her seat, and ignoring the looks she got from everyone in the hall, she ran over to where Professor Snape was sitting at the staff table.

"Professor, I've figured it out. I've got it!" she said, visibly excited. Dumbledore looked on, glad to see she was happy. It had been a long time since he'd seen her smile. He loved her smile. It lit up her face, and transformed her from the little girl who knew everything to just a little girl.

"Got what?" Snape asked, his voice quiet and lethal. He didn't like to be disturbed, especially not when he was eating or in a room filled with many people, all wanting to know what was going on.

"I know what the potions do!"

"You do?" he asked, and he dropped his fork onto his plate and stood up fast. "Follow me."

Ami followed him to his room. He flung open the door and she followed quickly behind him as he strode over to his desk. "What have you found?" he asked her.

She opened the book and pointed unnecessarily to a page, since he had no idea what it said. "I didn't see this before, but it says that there are pictures on each of the potions pages. I went on and looked at the pages, but I couldn't see any of the pictures at all. Then, I looked closer at the index in the front of the book, and saw that there was a spell for making things appear." She went to the index in the front of the book, where it listed all of the spells and charms. She flipped the page over, revealing some words written with black ink in fine script. But behind the words, as if it was in the page, instead of drawn on it, was the most vibrant picture of anything either Snape or Ami had seen before.

At the top, all you could see was the flowing script, writing out words that only Ami could understand. But as the words continued, the picture began. It slowly dissolved into sight as the page went down, until at the bottom a brilliant picture showing a finger pointing at a page in a book, and another miniature picture on that page began to appear as well.

"This was the only picture I could see in the whole book," Ami continued, "and I had no idea how to make the pictures appear. But then it clicked. This spell," she said, pointing enthusiastically, "is the first one for a reason. You use this spell to make the other pictures appear. Watch."

She turned to a page that looked like it had been used many, many times. It was wrinkled and covered in stains, some blue and gold, others pink, and still others black. But, miraculously, none of the words were smudged, and the page was still fully intact.

"This is a potion for calming nerves and jitters. Obviously, the person who used this book last suffered a lot from this."

"Obviously," Snape said, staring down his nose at the stains and creases. No book of his would ever become this disgustingly dirty. He liked keeping his books neat.

Ami pointed at the page, and shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. Then she started to speak. Snape could barely make out what she was saying, and when he finally managed to catch some words, he heard words from another language. It sounded like music, and was very pleasing on the ears. But all too soon Ami finished the spell, and she opened her eyes to see the picture form, spreading out from where her finger had been touching the page.

It showed a person who's outline was very blurry, and it appeared like they were shaking uncontrollably. Then, further down, the same person reached for a potion vial, and there was a drawing of smoke below that, followed by the same person, their outline crystal clear.

"Amazing," Snape breathed. Ami looked up at him, and she saw an impressed look on his face.

"I think so too," she said. She flipped to another page. "The senses potion."

"The one that increases awareness?" Snape asked, thinking back to the first potion Ami had copied out of this book.

Ami nodded, and shut her eyes, proceeding to repeat the process of pointing at the page and speaking the spell. Soon enough, a picture formed in front of their eyes.

It was of a normal person, but after another drawing of smoke, the person then had the ears of a bat, the eyes of an eagle, and the nose of a wolf.

"Would the face actually change?" Snape asked. He didn't want to have a face that looked like that. It reminded him of some unknown Egyptian god.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think so. If you look closely, you can see that a normal face is seen over the animal parts." Snape brought his face close to the page, his nose an inch from the book, and saw she was right. The mismatched animal face seemed to be a shadow of the actual face, as if it was to suggest that was a hint of what the senses acted like, and the face looked the same.

Snape nodded. "So there is a picture like this for every potion?" he asked. Ami was about to say that there was one for every spell too, but she stopped herself in time. She didn't want Snape to send her to Flitwick or McGonnagal to study the spells too.

"Yes. And the other potion I copied does seem to be about charming people. I thought..." she started, but trailed off. Then, finding some courage, she continued. "I thought that maybe we should start with that potion. Since no one seems to want to talk to me anyway." She looked up at Snape hopefully.

He considered for a moment. "Why would you want to charm people? Some of those students are a bunch of duffers anyway. I don't know why you'd care about them. And if it went wrong, they'd probably hate you. Would you want that?" he asked. Ami shrugged.

"I don't care if it fails. But it would be nice to have some friends. At least someone to talk to."

"We'll see," Snape said slowly. "I will look over the copies again. We can make them after the First Task."

Ami stared at him. She had totally forgotten about the Triwizard Tournament. Even though that was why she had no friends as of now, and it was all anyone talked about, she had been looking through the book too long to concentrate on anything else.

"Right, the First Task. I should... I should probably prepare for that." She closed the book, and slowly backed away from the desk. When Snape didn't stop her, she turned to go. She made it to the door when she heard his voice from behind her.

"Good luck with that, alright? I don't want to see my best student die because of a Task." His voice was quiet and kind, and Ami heard some form of caring that she had only heard from Dumbledore, and before that from Niko and the Jedi Masters. Best student, huh?

"Thanks. I won't." And with those parting words, Ami smiled and walked out of his classroom.

She hadn't given one ounce of thought to the First Task, and it was about time she did. She knew there was a dragon they were given, and she had to get past it and retrieve a golden egg. This egg was part of the dragon's other eggs, and as Ami well knew, dragons were very protective of their eggs.

But the question was, what to do?

She would have to sleep on it. She was dreadfully tired. Working the appearing spell wore Ami out, more so than any other magic she had tried before. It was magic from the Old Ones, however, and that did wear Ami out every time she used it. It kept her and the other Old Ones from abusing the power.

She woke up shortly after dawn, and the first thing she realized was that she had had no plan whatsoever for the dragon on Tuesday. She knew what all of the other champions would do, but she had no clue about herself. Something in her mind prevented her from thinking about it though._ It must be the part that wants me to somehow skip out of the Tournament_, she thought. Not one to mess with her mind, she knew she would be able to think of something when the time came.

It was time to do something else now.

She went up to the Gryffindor common room for the first time since she moved out of the dormitory. She wanted to do something with Hermione. She hoped she didn't come too early. It was only an hour after dawn, and she knew that even Hermione liked to sleep in on Saturdays.

She walked around the room, looking at everything. This was so different from how it used to be back in the old days, when the Founders were still around. Then, there were stiffer chairs, since they weren't exactly meant for comfort, but the spells on them did allow the students to relax. This had been where Godric's students lived, just like they did now, but there hadn't been quite so many students then. _They must have added the other rooms since I've been there_, she thought, _since there were only about four dorm rooms back then. Now there are about fourteen._ Two for each year.

She looked around more. There had been less on the walls, too. No board to post notices on. She looked over the notices, and saw one that interested her. It said that the Hogsmeade trip was this weekend. Today.

"I should go!" Ami said, excited. She had read about how wonderful the village was, and wanted to see what was in the stores. Some of the items had sounded so amazing in the book that Ami had tried to recreate some of them with magic and her imagination. They hadn't really worked, and Ami wanted to see the real things.

She remembered belatedly that this Hogsmeade weekend Harry would go invisible, walking with Hermione. Ami didn't want to intrude on that. Too much happened then. They would almost be seen by Rita Skeeter, Moody would go over to talk to Harry in his cloak, and Hagrid would tell him to meet him, so he could show him the dragons. Ami definitely did not want to go with them, if all that was happening. Too much could happen to _her_. Rita could take a picture of her, or she could have another confrontation, or worst of all, Hagrid could forget about inviting Harry, leaving Harry without a clue of the First Task, and most likely dead at the end of Tuesday.

Ami's mind was decided. She was not going to go with them.

But she would go. Looking one last time at the notice board for any other announcements that would concern her, Ami walked out of Gryffindor Tower.

It was time she saw what Hogsmeade was all about.


	20. Hogsmeade Village

Hogsmeade Village

"Do you have your permission slip?"

Ami looked at Filch, her head cocked. Permission slip? What was that all about?

Thinking hard, she vaguely remembered something about third years having to hand in a written form of permission from their parents to enter Hogsmeade."I don't have one," she said cautiously. She knew he wasn't going to let her go, but she needed to try.

"Then turn around and go back to your little dorm room. Don't waste my time. Next!" he said, pointing to a third year behind Ami. She was holding a permission slip.

Ami quickly pushed her way in front of the girl, who sneered at Ami and stepped back.

"I don't need one," Ami said this time, confidence and the Force supporting her claim.

"You don't need one," Filch said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Go on through. Next!"

Ami smirked as she made her way past him and through the gate into Hogsmeade. That had been too easy.

She followed the cobblestone road to the small village of Hogsmeade. She turned a bend in the road, and she stopped short in her path. It looked wonderful! She had seen many villages and cities before, many of which had looked more impressive, better kept, and more populous. But on that day, Hogsmeade was perfect.

It was a clear day, and there weren't too many people in the village yet. It was still breakfast time, and would be for a couple more hours. Ami felt like the village was her own.

There were a few Hogwarts students up and about, but they wanted nothing to do with Ami, and she wanted nothing to do with them either. She walked up the street, making sure to look at every store as she went by.

There was Zonko's, the joke shop, and Honeydukes, the sweet shop. There was also a post service, filled with owls ready to mail anything. Left and right, right and left Ami looked about, not missing a thing. She looked around as she was trained, and thanks to her memory she could have closed her eyes and remade Hogsmeade to the inch, not missing a single withering blade of grass.

She decided to stop into The Three Broomsticks for breakfast. So she wouldn't have any of her own food for a meal. It was about time she got used to local eating anyways.

Pushing open the door and hearing the tinkling that signified a new customer, Ami made her way over to a booth. Less than half the restaurant was filled, and Ami knew that this was rare, since it was usually packed with students. "Can I help you?" a woman asked, her glittering shoes clacking against the stone floor as she walked over to the table.

Ami assumed it was Madam Rosmerta. She was pretty, and had more than a few regulars turning their heads as she walked by. "What is there for breakfast?" Ami asked. In reply, a menu appeared in front of her. "When you're ready, just call!" Rosmerta said jovially. Ami smiled. She seemed very nice.

Looking over the menu, she saw many food names that she'd never heard of before. "Hash browns," she said, shaking her head. "Whatever they are." She did see some things she recognized. And by the time Rosmerta came back to check on her, Ami was ready to order.

"I'll have some waffles, and hot chocolate, please." She had no idea what waffles were, but the picture over the name showing fluffy looking dented pancakes, being smothered in syrup by a cute little boy made Ami want them. The boy flashed her a smile at her choice, as did Rosmerta. "Would you like syrup with your waffles, or fruit?" Fruit? Ami liked the sound of that. "I'll have the fruit and syrup, please."

"Whipped cream?"

Why would whipped cream be put on waffles? Unless it was a tradition or something. Then Ami realized the whipped cream was for the cocoa. "Oh, yes! I'd love whipped cream!"

Madam Rosmerta smiled at Ami as she picked up the menu and walked back to the kitchen. Ami wondered what the waffles would taste like. They had nothing like that up in space.

Ami was looking around the room, wondering if she should go over and say hi to the friendly looking vampire when someone slid into the booth opposite Ami.

"Niko?" Ami asked, and the older man smiled at her. "Niko!"

She grinned at her old teacher. "How has everything been going?" Niklaren Goldeye asked her in his crisp, educated voice. He too was smiling broadly. It had been years since they had seen each other last.

"Everything's been fine, I guess. What are you doing here?" It was so good to see him. He looked the same as ever. He wore the same fancy clothes as always, a bright white shirt and loose grey breeches. He wore a dark blue over-robe, which was open. Ami knew he had on good boots; maybe even the ones she had made for him. She had taken leather and fashioned it into boots, tracing on them protections and spells to keep them whole and safe from any damage. They were a gift for being such a good teacher and friend.

"I came to visit an old friend of mine," Niko said, the glint in his eyes very familiar to Ami. She was a little confused, though. How did he know where she was? He had sent her a letter, but how did he know she was at Hogwarts in the first place? Niko started to laugh. "You know, Ami, for someone with as much power and youth as yourself, you're very predictable. No, I am not speaking about you. In fact, I didn't even know you were here yourself. I am actually going to meet him here soon, and I spotted you first. Not that you are that hard to miss!" He laughed again, and Ami laughed as well this time.

She knew that to those who could see magic, like Niko and herself, they were always obvious to spot. Niko was as bright as a sun, and without trained eyes, it could be easy to have spots for days from looking at him.

Ami was a whole other story.

If Niko was as bright as a sun, than Ami was as bright as a supernova. Even Niko had a tough time looking at her on occasion, but after training her and watching her power grow, he could look at her without any damage to his eyes at all. So it was almost an assurance that whenever Ami was around, Niko would find her, and vice versa.

They both stopped laughing at around the same time. "It is good to see you, Ami," Niko said softly, a smile still on his face.

Ami smiled back, glad to be with her teacher once more. "So who's this old friend you're meeting?"

Niko only smiled. Then Ami heard a chuckle. "You know him too, I see! You must add Most Connected in the Galaxy to your titles too!"

Ami turned her head quickly, gaining a crick in her neck. "Professor!" she said, shocked that Dumbledore was the friend her teacher was meeting.

"Niklaren Goldeye, it's a pleasure to see you once again." Dumbledore extended his hand, and Niko rose to grab it.

"It's been ages, old friend.""Too long," Dumbledore agreed.Ami just stared in silence. So she wasn't the only one who knew Niko around here. That could be useful. She waited patiently as they greeted each other and slowly sat down across from Ami. "So how do you two know each other?" she asked curiously.

"Along the way," Dumbledore replied, the twinkle in his eyes matching Niko's. "We happened to both be in the same place at the same time. We still manage to run into each other from time to time," he said, and Niko grinned in agreement.

"I see," Ami said slowly. That was how things were with Xanatos, except more often than not he planned them that way.

"You seem brighter than I remember," Niko said, raising one eyebrow at his student. "What have you been up to since I saw you last?"

Ami thought. She hadn't seen him in over five years. "A lot," she confessed. She had become an Old One, and had been accepted to every school of magic. She had gained her titles, met new friends, trained extensively, and became the representative of the Light. "Quite a bit, actually."

"Well, you should fill me in at some point." Ami nodded, but Niko didn't see since he was busy looking over at Madam Rosmerta as she made her way to the table, a plate of food in hand.

"Here you go, dear," she said, placing the plates down in front of Ami. "I see you have some company! Nice to see you again, Albus," she said, smiling at the Headmaster, who smiled back and nodded once in greeting.

Ami looked down at her waffles. They were bigger than she imagined, and seemed to be crispier than she thought they'd be. She tentatively poured on some syrup and cut off a small piece. She stabbed it with her fork and glanced up. Both Niko and Dumbledore were watching her. "What?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. It just seems like you've never eaten that before," Dumbledore said, his fingers folded together in a gesture of innocence. But his eyes gave away the fact that he knew the truth. Ami smiled.

"Well, I haven't." She picked the waffle piece up and put it in her mouth. It was warm, and it was sweet from the syrup. It wasn't half bad. She eagerly cut another piece, and added some fruit.

"I was hoping to talk to you over breakfast," Dumbledore said, turning back to Niko, "but it seems like you already have company."

Niko let his eyes linger on Ami a moment longer before he looked at Dumbledore. "Albus, anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Ami. I have full confidence in her."

"No doubt you do," Dumbledore said, "but there are some things a young girl just shouldn't hear."

Ami snorted in her whipped cream while she went to take a drink of her hot chocolate. Some of the whipped cream spattered on the robes of the two men. Quickly placing her drink back down, Ami felt her face heat up. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, waving her fingers to clear the mess. Niko was staring disdainfully at his shirt, checking to make sure that there was no stain. He was always painfully clean, and hated a mess of any sort, especially when the mess was on his clothes. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was beginning to crack up.

"It is quite alright," he said to Ami, who smiled meekly in return. "Back to what I was saying, I just think we should wait until we are in private."

"Please," Ami said quickly before Niko could respond. "If you have anything to say to him, I would like to know. The information might come in handy."

Dumbledore still looked unsure, and was saved from answering when Madam Rosmerta came back to take their orders. After she left again, it was Niko who spoke next.

"Albus, I have to agree with my former student. Anything you say to me can be said to her." He smiled wryly. "I'd probably tell her whatever it is, anyway."

Dumbledore smiled too, and Ami looked hopefully up at him."Be that as it may," he said, still smiling, "I still don't feel that what I'm about to hear is appropriate for Ami."

Ami's shoulders drooped. She was going to say something in her defense, but she knew it wouldn't change Dumbledore's mind. He may be fair and intelligent, but he was still stubborn.

"Very well," Ami said, sighing. She picked at her waffles, having lost her appetite with her right to listen in. Then all of a sudden her breath hitched.

"Ami?" Niko asked, his voice low and wary. "What is it?"Ami just shook her head. She stared pointedly at Dumbledore first, and then Niko. "I'm not here." And then she looked over her left shoulder to see out the front window, and disappeared.

-------

He opened the door as if he were a normal customer. He felt great magical power coming from one of the booths that lined the left wall. That's where she would be. He let his black cape billow in the last bit of wind as the door shut. All eyes turned towards him. _Now that's what I call an entrance._

Only two people hadn't looked his way. As he walked towards the booth where the power exuded, he noticed that it was two old men who hadn't looked. Pushing his cape behind him, he felt some people shrink away from him as he passed on his way to the booth.

"Good day, fine gentlemen," he said. The man facing the door finished his bite of waffle. Waffle. What a vile breakfast.

"How are you?" the man asked. He was wearing a black cloak lined in silver, which matched his stunningly silver hair and beard, both of which were long enough to tuck into his belt. How tacky.

Turning to the other man, who was not quite as old, and much cleaner, he said, "I am looking for someone. Maybe you've seen her?"

The second man turned to the first, who raised an eyebrow. "Her? You are looking for a woman?"

He shook his head. "Not a woman, a girl. Although she likes to pretend that she's a woman. It's very... pretentious of her." He knew the tone of his voice had changed from kind to slightly dark. That was alright. The better to intimidate them with.

But neither one seemed affected by him. Beard Man had turned back to his waffles. He wanted to cringe in disgust.

"You must have seen her. I know she came in here." But Clean Man shook his head. Beard Man smiled vaguely.

"If you want us to look for her, you'll have to tell us what she looks like." Beard Man smiled up at him, his eyes twinkling. It was sickening. He had no time for this.

Grabbing his beard forcefully, he pulled until the man's face was mere inches from his own. "Don't play coy with me, old man. I know you know who I am talking about. Where is she?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Everyone in the restaurant seemed to gasp. Obviously this was either an important person to them, or he had just accomplished scaring them into listening to him. Whichever. All that mattered was they were listening. Good.

"If I happen to see this girl," Beard Man said, his face still only a few inches from the young man's face, "I will tell her you're looking for her. And who should I say you are?" he asked, almost jovial. Almost.

"Xanatos," he replied, releasing the man's beard. He didn't watch as he fell back onto the booth seat, nor did he see the barkeeper and a few other patrons rush over to the man to see if he was alright. He turned and stalked back towards the door. She was here. He felt her.

And somehow she knew he was there as well.

Xanatos shrugged it off. He would get her in his own time. And oh, what a pleasure that would be.

-------

The door opened and shut, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. He was gone. From the window, Ami watched as he left the Three Broomsticks. She carefully climbed her way back inside, where she hurried over to Dumbledore, magically unnoticed.

"He's looking for you," Niko said as she slid into his seat. Ami stared straight ahead, her eyes glazed.

"I know."


End file.
